Teana's Travels Book 33: Fated Battles
by D.K.N
Summary: Teana and several other DDF members venture to another new Earth, to a city called Fuyuki. There, they meet a trio of local young mages - Illya, Miyu, and 'Kuro' - and decide to help them fend off the Heartless' exploratory probes on this world. But there is more going on than it seems, and the specter of the Grail Wars still lingers... 'Mixes' Prisma-Illya and Fate-Stay timelines.
1. Prisma Illya

Okay, let's see how badly I can accidentally piss off any major Fate-verse fans with my ignorance or mistakes…

 **THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS STORY**

 _Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha_ (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs

 _Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni_ (Shion and friends/family) – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

 _Shuffle!_ (Kaede Fuyō and associated characters) – Navel and Asread

 _Erika's New Perfume_ (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – DeviantArtist 'Lance the Young'

 _Mai-chan's Daily Life_ (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga

 _Star Wars_ (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, _Force Unleashed_ cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

 _Halo_ (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie, 343 Industries

 _StarCraft_ (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

 _Naruto_ (characters, techniques, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto

 _Mahō Sensei Negima_ (characters, spells, abilities) – Ken Akamatsu

 _Kingdom Hearts_ (characters, weapons, enemies, concepts) – Square-Enix

 _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ (characters, concepts, tech) – Studio Gainax

 _Elfen Lied_ (Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms

 _Red vs. Blue_ (The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth

 _My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic_ – Hasbro, Lauren Faust

 _Transformers Film Series_ – Hasbro, Michael Bay

 _Transformers: Beast Wars_ – Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment

 _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ – Kazuki Takahashi, Viz Media

 _Sonic the Hedgehog_ – SEGA

 _Gears of War_ – Epic Games

 _Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles_ – Columbia Tristar (I think)

 _Mass Effect_ – Bioware

 _Metroid_ – Nintendo

 _Puella Magi Madoka Magica_ – Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT

 _The Legend of Zelda_ – Nintendo

 _Tōhō_ – ZUN

 _RWBY_ – Rooster Teeth

 _Pretty Cure / PreCure_ – Toei Animation

 _Kill La Kill_ – Trigger

 _Cross Ange_ – Sunrise

 _Cardcaptor Sakura_ – Clamp

 _Sailor Moon_ – Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha

 _Sailor Nothing_ – used with express permission of Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne; please visit his website for _SN_ and his other original works

 _Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya_ – TYPE-MOON

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _BOOK 33 START_** **-**

 **Realm LN-34 – Midchilda**

 **During Events of Book 32**

Beneath the thick, dark clouds, as the rain poured down, one bruised and bloodied young girl sat on the steps outside a tournament hall, quietly sobbing. She'd lost her only friend; the girl who'd once been like a sister to her was now cold, merciless, cruel… The person she'd once been was dead and gone. And their friendship was now unmistakably _over_.

She had no home. She had no family. She had no friends. She didn't have the power to keep the one person who mattered to her from becoming someone else, someone who stood against everything her old self had cared for. …What good was she?

Suddenly, though her face was buried in her arms, she felt as the rain stopped falling on her. Raising her head, she looked up to see a boy around 16 or 17 looking down at her, and from his body a large, purple spectral skeleton arm had emerged, the hand held over her as an umbrella. Though it was difficult to tell because of his naturally-stoic expression, the youth looked at her with empathy, curiosity, and… strangely, understanding.

And as Fuuka Reventon looked up with curious awe at this stranger, whom she could faintly 'sense' the imposing presence of, the young warrior known as Sasuke Uchiha looked and saw the great potential slumbering within her…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **Present**

Just because the threats posed by Embryo and Malcolm Hargrove had been dealt with, and Jul Mdama and Master Xehanort were keeping a low profile for the moment, didn't mean that the people of the Dimensional Defense Force sat and waited for things to happen. People were still on the lookout for any signs of trouble, scryers and magitech probes combed the unvisited Realms for potential friends or foes, and science was had. The technology recovered from Requiem before its destruction, combined with continued discoveries from Onyx, were already beginning to bear fruit. Joint DDF science teams were preparing to embark on a few rather ambitious undertakings. The latest hybrid TSAB/Protoss/Forerunner technology was being prepared for real-time internal and external monitoring of a few old supergiant stars that were nearing the ends of their lives, ready to gather all sorts of data before and as the ancient giants destroyed themselves in supernovae – perhaps even directly witness, at 'close' range, the birth of a pulsar or black hole, or the devastating power of a gamma-ray burst.

An even more extraordinary plan was in motion using nigh-indestructible, slipspace-capable armored probes, which would be made to send real-time data out via slipspace comm streams to waiting science vessels at a safe distance. These probes would be far, far more ludicrously durable than anything ever made before. They would have to be, for they were to be deliberately sent into a couple of 'intermediate'- and supermassive-class black holes, using Forerunner slipspace comm-channel tech to "cheat" the rule of "all information within a black hole's event horizon is lost forever" to send what data their scanners and all-spectrum cameras could before they got close enough to the singularities that even they could not survive any longer. …And they would also be capable of slip-spacing data from one probe to another, which would theoretically allow one probe closer to the core to send its final data to a farther-out one which would 'relay' it out to the waiting ship… or the 'outer' probe could then open a slipspace rift while inside the event horizon and 'slip' out back into safe space to be salvaged and maybe even reused, having used its Forerunner-augmented magitech to twist time in such a way that it was able to observe and 'record' the inner probe's final destruction, so that DDF scientists might actually get to find out what happened to something that 'hit' the singularity (or close to it) instead of just speculating and calculating and imagining like human scientists had had to do for centuries due to being unable to actually observe these 'unobservable' phenomena.

Granted, there was no 100% guarantee that the 'unmanned black hole exploration mission' would actually _work_ , even with the absurdly advanced proto-tech they were using. But the value of the potential data was deemed worth the gamble.

On a more personal scale, the seven 'Numbers' who'd defected from Jail Scaglietti's service shortly before the big battle against him had long since been cleared of charges. Like Teana, they were dual UNSC/TSAB citizens, living on Midchilda but also working for the TSAB as a special ops pseudo-Spartan team, complete with upgrades to their cybernetics and GEN-2 Mjolnir armor. They'd built up a 'modest' but still impressive service record. Lutecia Alpine, meanwhile, was a TSAB/PLF citizen, she and her mother helping the Phoenix League with this & that and also interacting with some Midchildan figures. Already the change in little Lutecia thanks to having her mother back in her life was dramatic, the formerly quiet and cold girl now fast becoming an energetic and cheerful child, full of curiosity and a lust for life.

Teana, meanwhile, had come under scrutiny from some of her 'superiors' (Nanoha and the other RF6 trainers, some of the high-ranking Konoha shinobi, her brother and older cousin…), due to a discovery being made about her abilities: for a long time, she had been neglecting her "Fake Silhouette" and "Optic Hide" spells, due to dubbing them as tactically worthless in the face of her 'newer' powers and technology. But in fact, they still held considerable value; Fake Silhouette duplicates were proven to be more convincing and lifelike then those of the similar illusory _Bunshin no Jutsu_ , and the Optic Hide spell could fool infrared as well as visual-light sensors – a step up from Sangheili-designed active camouflage and most other cloaking methods (other than the similarly all-encompassing 'Void Cloak' used by Nerazim-trained persons). Nanoha, Hayate, Tiida, the Master Chief, Tsunade, and others had urged Teana to reacquire her skills with her long-atrophied Illusion Magic, bringing her into an intense 're-training' regimen to get her back into 'shape' with them.

In addition, Teana's individual 'standard' Shooting Magic bolts were nowhere near as powerful as they could be – Nanoha's, for example, could hit with the force of mortar shells, while Teana's bolts could barely hit low grenade-level explosive/concussive strength, necessitating that she use them _en masse_ in dozens or hundreds to do real damage. Nanoha had started 'helping' her with this as well.

- _Break_ -

Teana sighed as she flopped down onto the couch in the lounge, feeling a bit drained. The training and study that she was being put through recently, having to "re-learn" how to effectively use and improve her old, old skills, was surprisingly almost as hard as learning it all the first time. It was like someone who was bedridden for months having to get their body used to walking around again. Though, they were telling her she _was_ making progress, even if she couldn't yet see it…

"Hello, cousin."

Teana turned to look, as a familiar young-adult man with short black hair strolled in.

"Hey, Itachi- _nii_ " she waved. "Any news?"

"Yes, actually" the older Uchiha sat down beside her. "We've found the next world that could use the DDF's assistance, especially since it seems Xehanort's monsters are already skulking around there for recon. It's another Earth, another Japan – a city called 'Fuyuki' this time. If the energies our people detected are correct, that location already has at least a few magically-adept locals, and they use Light magic, so odds are they're potential allies."

"More allies? That's good. Who're they sending over there?"

"Well, you've been picked as part of that team, as have I, and our respective siblings."

Teana's eyebrow raised. "You, me, _nii-san_ , and Sasuke? That's quite a bit of firepower."

"One of the High-Templar foreseers claims it will be necessary to have some of our 'big guns' present and involved. In any event, we leave tomorrow. Be ready."

"As always" the girl replied.

- _Break_ -

The next day, the 'departure group' was gathering. Besides the 'Uchiha Quartet', they were joined by the three shinobi of former Team Kurenai (Hinata, Shino, and Kiba), the young Keyblade Master Riku, Salia Tereshkova of the Awakened (she and Riku had been fast forming a friendship of sorts as of late), and a new young face.

"Oh?" Tiida looked at the new girl – young, her bluish-green eyes looking around with curious awe at the gathering of heroes, dark-brown hair in a ponytail, wearing a simple outfit of jacket over shirt, long pants, and a brand-new sheathed sword similar to Sasuke's hanging from her waist. "Is this your newest student, Sasuke?"

"Yep" the youth replied, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "This is Fuuka. She's local; I found her a little while back, took her in. She's actually got tremendous potential – just needs a little help bringing that out. I'm taking her along for this op – getting her some field experience."

"W-Working forward to looking with you all" the girl stammered nervously with a slight bow, and then winced & blushed at her mix-up; she was obviously still nervous about working with such famous figures.

"Relax, kid" Teana said with a soft smile. "You'll do fine. Now… Let's go see what kinda trouble we can get involved in _this_ time…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

A large rune-circle appeared on the ground in the middle of a small, presently-deserted clearing on the edge of town, and with a flash of light the DDF team was teleported down from the orbiting _Starshot_. The sun was setting, casting everything in an orange hue. Before anyone could do much more than get their bearings, Cross Mirage spoke up.

"Alert" the A.I. announced. "Heartless and Unversed detected active; local mages have engaged them in combat."

Everyone snapped to alert, readying their energies and weapons.

"I can sense them" Riku spoke up after a few seconds. "Follow me!"

The young Keyblade Master took off, moving with magic-enhanced speed as he leapt through the trees, with the rest of the group following close behind. Within a handful of minutes, they reached a forested area on the city's outskirts, and combat became directly detectable – flashes of light and concussive blasts of magic. Arriving on the scene, they found five people engaging the Heartless and Unversed.

Two of them were girls around the age of Teana, Sasuke, and Team Kurenai. One had dark hair held in pigtails, wearing a long dark-red sweater and a black miniskirt with thigh-high stockings, a calm yet fierce look in her blue eyes as she pulled out a thumb-sized gem, charged it with mana, and tossed it at a pack of Soldiers; the gem exploded, destroying all but one of the 'basic'-level Heartless. The other girl was clad in a deep-blue dress with bits of white here & there, wearing white boots, her long blonde hair made into large ringlets that hung over her shoulder. She pointed her finger like a gun, and fired a small bolt of red mana that hit a Flood right between the eyes, taking it out.

But the heavy lifting was obviously being done by three younger girls, around 10 or 11 in age. One had long white hair, and was wearing a predominantly pink mana-forged outfit that included high pink stockings, a few 'wings' formed by a split cape, and pink-tinged feather hair-ties. She was wielding a pink staff tipped with a circular golden piece that had a large five-pointed star inside it, and six pink-tinged white wings on either side of the 'head'. She swung the staff, releasing a slicing wave of dark-pink magical force that cut a trio of Armored Knights in half, destroying them.

The second young girl had short black hair, clad in an outfit somewhat similar to the first girl's but a bit more revealing, and in a purple & black color scheme. The staff she wielded was similar to the first, but blue instead of pink, the 'wings' like those of a butterfly instead of a bird, the star 6-pointed instead of five. Pointing her staff, she fired a cluster shot of bright blue energy bolts, blowing away a handful of Red Nocturnes.

The third young girl's attire was quite different. She was wearing a dark-red cape and matching waist-cape, together with sleeves, over a very risqué top that only barely covered her young chest, leaving her shoulders and belly (which had an odd red symbol on it) fully exposed, along with short-shorts that were little more than underwear, together with black heeled boots. Her long pale-pink hair was tied up in a rough bun behind her head, and her skin tone was darker than the other girls'… but other than that, she looked startlingly like the girl in pink in terms of facial features and body shape, like a twin but with darker skin and subtly-different hair color. She was wielding a pair of swords, identical except for one having a black blade and the other white, moving with superhuman speed & agility as she cut darklings down left & right.

Riku made the first move, throwing his Keyblade in a Strike Raid, cutting through a freshly-spawned trio of Darkballs. This drew the locals' attention, leaving them quite surprised to see so many new faces on the edge of the battlefield. It also drew the Heartless' attention, the dark creatures sensing the threat of a Keyblade and rushing at Riku. In response, Sasuke wreathed his hand in Lightning chakra and then swept it outward, releasing a wave of _Chidori Senbon_ that pierced through several of the Heartless, destroying them. Salia rushed in next, eyes glowing blue and green as her psi-blades ignited, clashing with a pack of Armored Knights and quickly carving through them.

Tiida and Itachi leapt in, the latter destroying a Scrapper by making it into his landing pad while the former fired a charged mana shot from Aster that blew a Large Body's head off. Tiida then drew an odd-looking blue weapon from his back – his new Sangheili T-53 Plasma Caster – and charged a shot. The glowing blue plasma charge fired out, latching onto the face of a Soldier and then detonating in a chain of cluster blasts that tore apart that Heartless and four others around it. Teana was in the fray as well, the bright orange energy blades of Mirage Longsword slicing a flock of Air Soldiers to ribbons. A flash of movement accompanied Fuuka drawing her new sword and blitzing forward, a speed-strike that struck down two Scrappers in one blow; in addition to honing her unarmed combat, Sasuke had been intently tutoring her in swordsmanship, which she was already showing promise in. The members of Team Kurenai contributed as well; Shino did not even deem these foes worthy of his bugs, using chakra-enhanced physical strikes to dispatch anything that got close to him, while Kiba & Akamaru happily bulldozed through a pack of Shadows and Floods, and Hinata punished a group of Scrappers that tried to pounce on her from all directions by using _Hakkeshō Kaiten_ to shred the lot of them. All the while, the local group looked on with mixed wariness, confusion, and awe as the newcomers made sport of the mysterious dark creatures.

The last enemy soon fell, a Scrapper vertically bisected by Riku's Keyblade. The DDF group coalesced, as they and the local group now looked at each other, the latter with some wariness.

"We come in peace" Itachi said.

"So does using that line mean you're aliens?" the darker-skinned girl said in a half-joking tone.

"Depends on your definition" Tiida replied. "We're humans, but some of us weren't born on Earth. And _all_ of us are from different Realms – 'universes', some use."

"We represent the Dimensional Defense Force," Teana spoke up, "an alliance of various sovereign powers and people of special ability, joined together to fight against common threats that endanger multiple Realms. Those creatures we just fought, the Heartless and the Unversed, are both under the control of a major enemy of the DDF; their presence means he is at least somewhat aware of this world. So now, we're here to help you locals fend off these enemy forces. And if any major threats pop up here 'locally', we'll see if we can help you with those, too."

After a few seconds, the young girl in pink stepped forward.

"Hey, hold on!" the black-haired older girl said. "We don't know enough to trust them yet!"

"They helped us" the first girl turned and said to her. "They're friendly; I can feel it. I don't know how, just…"

"Plus," her staff spoke up with a synthetic voice but natural-sounding intonation, "judging by the power levels I'm scanning on some of them, if they wanted they could flatten us regardless of if we had our guards up or not."

Teana raised an eyebrow. "A fully sapient magic-based AI? Those are pretty rare to come across. My 'partner' Mirage started out pretty… 'basic', and even now it took months after his core matrices were upgraded for his intelligence & personality to grow to where they are now."

"It is not something that can be rushed" her Device chimed in.

"U-Um…" the white-haired young girl fidgeted a bit. "M-My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern, but everyone calls me Illya. This is Ruby, my partner"

"Hello~!" the 'staff' waved one side's wings. "Magical Kaleido Ruby at your service! And pleased to see such _fan_ service in some of you – outfits that are the perfect combination of making you look imposing and showing off your fine figures!"

As a couple of the female DDF members either blushed or gave the staff annoyed looks, Illya flicked Ruby's head, earning a soft "Owie…" from the central star.

"Chloe von Einzbern" the darker-skinned girl said, arms crossed. "'Kuro' is fine."

"Miyu" the black-haired little girl said, her voice soft and high but in a flat tone.

"I am Sapphire, Miyu-sama's partner" her staff introduced herself. "Please forgive my elder sister's exuberance; she means well, but rarely thinks before speaking."

"Rin" the older black-haired girl said. "Rin Tohsaka, in-training mage of the 'Clock Tower' Mage Association."

"Luvia Edelfelt, same" the blonde said. "If you're offering to help us deal with the troubles we encounter all too frequently, I'm all for it."

The orange-haired girl nodded with a little grin. "Teana Uchiha-Lanstar, and over there is my big brother Tiida."

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother. And this girl is my student, Fuuka Reventon."

"Riku." "Salia" "Kiba Inuzuka! And this is Akamaru!" "Shino. Aburame." "H-Hinata Hyuuga; pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Hmm…" Luvia looked over the group. "Why don't we all head to my dwelling to discuss things and share details?"

- _Break_ -

 **Edelfelt Manor**

Gathered in the main foyer of the 'humble' abode Luvia had constructed upon her arrival in this area a couple months ago, the DDF delegation had given some more detail about their background, goals, extent, and enemies, promising to let the local group view the 'archival footage' tomorrow since it was getting late for tonight. In return, the local group – 'Team Illya', Ruby insisted on calling – told them of their abilities, the adventures they'd faced, and such. The 'Class Cards' were an intriguing phenomenon, and Kuro's nature – an independent 'fragment' formed of Illya's sealed-away babyhood memories of her 'original purpose' (conduit for the power of an extremely powerful high-ancient magical artifact) and based around the Archer Card, developed into a fully separate individual with her own Heart – was remarked as unusual as well, though Riku made comparisons to 'good' Nobodies like Roxas, Axel, and Laicixa. The fact that, due to her unique nature, Kuro could not gradually draw in mana from the world around her to replenish her reserves like 'normal' people automatically did was seen as something to think about… though they politely chose not to dwell on the issue of her preferred method of taking the mana she needed from others…

While everyone was sharing stories, Fuuka had been gently persuaded to tell hers, considering that no-one of the DDF group besides Sasuke, Itachi, and Hinata knew her story yet. Hearing of how her former best friend Rinne had been mysteriously 'corrupted', becoming someone who valued strength above all else and seemingly looked upon those weaker than her with scornful disdain, even attacking Fuuka and beating her into the ground when she tried to call her out on her attitude…

"Okay, then" Illya said. "Explanations have been given, introductions made… There's just one thing left." And then she got on her knees in front of a surprised Teana, looking up with hands clasped and stars in her eyes. "Can we see your spaceship?-! I wanna see what it's like to be on a spaceship! Please let us see it!"

After a second, the redhead chuckled. "Lemme call the Shipmaster, see if he'll let us take you guys on a quick tour."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The next day, after the local five (well, seven counting the two Sticks) watched the entire collection of 'footage' (with a temporal distortion field so the days of intel took only a few hours in the outside world), Tohsaka had gone alone to inspect the leylines of the area. Fortunately for her, upon learning that she used gems as a medium for her magic but this was prohibitively expensive for her, the TSAB had started working on Devices for her and Luvia, and in the meantime Celestia had been glad to donate some gems for her to use until then (considering that 'precious' gems were so much more common on Equestria than on any of the Realms' various Earths).

As the day wore on into night, the DDF group split up to observe different spots in the city, keeping a lookout for any trouble. Unfortunately, they had neglected to leave anyone stationed at the area of Luvia & Illya's houses…

- _Break_ -

Taking the Rider card from the fallen Miyu, the woman known as Bazett began stalking towards the tired and injured Kuro across the courtyard.

"I won't ask again" she said to the girl. "Give me the Archer Card."

"…Sorry, but I can't do that" Kuro replied with a tired little grin. "To put it simply, the nature of my existence is kinda… unique. The Archer Card is stuck in immaterial form inside my heart; we can't make it come out. It cannot be removed without killing me. Are you really willing to murder a child for your 'mission'?"

For a moment, Bazett stopped. But then, she closed her eyes with a slightly self-disgusted expression on her face, took a deep, slow breath… and continued slowly walking towards Kuro, her right hand glowing green with magical power as she shaped the hand & fingers into a spearing shape. A look of increasing terror formed on Kuro's face as she realized that yes, Bazett _was_ willing to murder her for the Card in her heart.

With a flash of movement, Illya appeared standing in Bazett's path, right in front of Kuro; the pink-clad girl was battered and beaten, one hand held to her stomach area, but she glared at the approaching enemy with unyielding defiance. In response, Bazett's approach quickened, closing in on the two girls…

Suddenly, Bazett had to leap back a few feet as a large object came spinning in, embedding itself in the stone pathway she had just been standing at. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a large poleaxe, with an intricate, elegant and sweeping design for the bone-white blade which had blood-red markings on it, the same going for a pointed tip emerging from the top. Then, the group (including Miyu, who had regained consciousness and was watching from her place on the ground) became aware of footsteps coming from the direction the huge weapon had been thrown. Looking toward the source, Bazett arched an eyebrow in curiosity, while the three girls' eyes widened in deep surprise at seeing the familiar woman with a very _un_ -familiar look of focused hostility in her eyes.

"L… Leysritt-san…?" Illya murmured.

"Who are you?" Bazett demanded, taking a ready posture.

"Do you know of the Einzbern clan?" the normally-lazy maid asked to the suited woman in her sights.

Bazett nodded. "One of the old mage families, responsible for helping to create the Holy Grail War ritual centuries ago. They were wiped out around 10 years ago, at the climax of the Fourth War."

"Not completely wiped out. Just the ones who were willing to sacrifice and ruin innocent lives for their pursuit of the Grail's power, including those of their own children – so, most of them. They were exterminated by one of the few kind members and her husband, seeking to give their daughter a normal life free of the clan's manipulations. …Those two girls you were just planning to kill were originally one person: that 'newborn daughter' that the clan was near-totally wiped out to protect. My sister and I, her mother's servants, have helped raise and care for her… and are sworn to protect her from any threats. So, to sum up…"

Then, Leysritt's body flared with magical energy, cratering the stone beneath her feet.

"You've tried to kill my charges. For that… you _die_!"

For an instant, Leysritt seemed to vanish as she briefly moved too fast to track. Eyes widening, Bazett brought her arms up in a guard a split-second before the white-haired maid's punch hammered home, the force behind the blow making the ground beneath Bazett's feet crack. The two women then went into a furious exchange of rapid-fire blows, each one strong enough to kill a 'mundane' human, blocking and dodging and countering. Leaping back to avoid a strike aimed at her neck, Leysritt grabbed her axe and charged in, unleashing a barrage of high-speed stabbing strikes with the pointy bit at the top that Bazett barely managed to dodge.

Illya and Kuro watched in awe as the normally-lazy maid matched Bazett blow for blow, actually pushing the 'berserker woman' back a little. Not only were the two caretakers they thought to be 'mundane' already in on the world of magic, but one of them was fighting on even footing with an opponent who'd trashed them with little effort. Bazett leapt back to dodge an overhead axe-swing that would've split her in half down the middle, and then was nearly blindsided by a blast of mint-green magical energy from the side. She looked, and saw a red-eyed, white-haired woman striding onto the scene, calm anger in her eyes. It only took Bazett a second to realize she was looking at the mother of the two girls. Then, Irisviel snapped her fingers, and Bazett was nearly pancaked by a massive fist made of glowing green 'strings' of magical energy that tried to flatten her from on high.

"You were trying to kill my daughters" the woman said in an icy tone. "Did you really think I wouldn't take that personally, 'Enforcer'? I've been married to the 'Magus Killer' himself for 10 years. Allow me to show you some of what I've learned from him…"

As the Einzbern matriarch joined the fray, a third person appeared: Stella leapt in, scooped up the injured Miyu, carried her over to Illya & Kuro (thus further away from the fighting) and set her down, and then the maid's hands glowed with healing magic as she started working to repair some of the damage Bazett had dealt. The enemy in question was steadily being pushed into a corner, taking more and more hits as Leysritt pressed her attack with Irisviel providing supporting 'fire'.

However, Bazett noticed what Sella was doing. Knowing that if those three girls got back into fighting shape and joined Leysritt & Irisviel in the fight, her chance of victory – or even survival – would go down even further, she abruptly pulled out and threw one of the two Flash Gems she kept to enable quick getaways, triggering it to briefly stun the two combatants. She then charged at where Sella and the girls were, as those four turned just in time to see her coming, Iri & Ley regaining their senses in time to see her but not fast enough to intercept in time…

And then, a male figure in a black cloak lined with red flame patterns along the sleeves and bottom hem appeared in her path. His crimson eyes glared at her, and then before Bazett could react he struck. A single rising punch to the gut made a sound like a cannon going off, the air behind Bazett briefly distorting from transferred force. Eyes wide, Bazett let out a squeaked gasp as she collapsed to her knees, hands to her midsection as she tried to make her body breathe again; that blow had nearly ruptured a few organs, and were she a normal, magic-less human it would've punched clean through her torso. As she hunched forward on the ground, Itachi then formed a rapid series of hand-seals, and then placed his palm – with a bit of Kuro's blood that she had shed earlier in the fight – down on the back of Bazett's neck. Light and chakra flared, and when it faded Bazett felt whole new pains all over.

"W-What did you… just do?" she gasped out.

"A 'shared pain' seal" the Uchiha replied. "Connecting you to Kuro. It is also connected to her life-force; if she dies, so too shall you. And it is one-way, so killing you will not harm her. You will _not_ be reclaiming the Card that sustains her existence; attempting to do so will end your life as well. You have lost, 'Enforcer of the Magus Association'. Yield, or be struck down."

After a few seconds, Bazett relaxed her body, releasing the magic she'd been charging herself with; she was done. Even if she tried to fight, she could tell that this newcomer was even stronger than the two adult Einzberns were; if he thought her a continued threat, she'd stand no chance.

"Just following orders…" she grumbled.

"If that is the case, my associates will make whoever gave you this 'order' our next target, if needed. Either way, should you attempt to harm these children again, the contents of your skull will litter the ground. These children and their allies are under the protection and guidance of myself and my comrades, and your 'organization' will _not_ bring further harm to them. So speaks Uchiha Itachi, _Jōnin_ of the Village Hidden in Leaves."

Nearby, there was the sound shifting stone as the secret exit of the ruined mansion's underground escape tunnel was pushed up and aside. Rin Tohsaka emerged first, followed by Luvia being supported by Teana, and then Kiba & Tiida helping August, Luvia's butler; the latter two were barely on their feet, after the injuries Bazett had inflicted on them earlier. The rest of the DDF team arrived seconds later, securing the perimeter.

"If you still have ideas of causing trouble, Bazett," Rin spoke up as she came over, "I've got something to show you. Take a look at this 'portrait' of the local leylines, taken just this morning."

She pulled out a parchment with a complex pattern burned into it, like a network of interwoven tree branches. Upon closer inspection, a small point in the lower left, in the middle of a thick leyline, was empty – a perfect-shaped square of blankness.

"Taking a look at the readings I got," the young mage continued, "it all adds up to solid proof of something that should be impossible: an _eighth_ Class Card."

Bazett's eyes noticeably widened, Illya & Kuro looked slightly surprised, and Miyu, for some reason, looked deeply shocked.

"T-That… shouldn't exist…" the girl whispered, staring into space. "Impossible…"

"…It seems there is far more going on than what I was informed of" the 'Enforcer' spoke. "…Do you propose a truce?"

"I do" Tohsaka replied. "At least, until we figure out what's going on, and the eighth Card is dealt with. Unfortunately, it's presently deep underground; it will take a while before we can engage it. And all that time, it's slowly but steadily absorbing planetary mana, for reasons unknown."

Straightening up, Bazett looked the group over. Then, with a small sigh, she withdrew the Assassin, Berserker, and Caster cards, and handed them over to Rin.

"I'm keeping the other three for now" she said. "Consider it as insurance, a sign of our armistice. …I'm leaving."

Watching the woman leave, Luvia glared. "She'll pay for what she did to my house…" the rich girl growled.

"How you gonna make her? After what she did to us…" Rin asked.

The blonde allowed herself a vindictive smirk. "When I say she'll 'pay', I'm not exactly being metaphorical. Even for me, rebuilding this place will be slightly costly. Someone that high in the Association's rank is sure to have a healthy bank account… but not for long…"

"Well, then" Irisviel spoke up. "I suppose there's lots of info-sharing and story-telling to be done by both sides, hm?"

- _Break_ -

"They're called 'Class Cards'."

With the whole group gathered for a seat underneath a tree in Luvia's estate grounds (since Shirou, who was not 'in the loop', was home at the Emiya/Einzbern household across the street), the DDF group had first given a brief summary about themselves, and then the 'local five (seven)' got to explaining to Irisviel, Sella, & Leysritt about the events Illya had been dragged into; learning that Illya and Miyu had essentially been forced into these life-or-death situations because Rin & Luvia's feud had driven Ruby & Sapphire to abandon them and seek new masters had earned the two older girls some disapproving glares from Iris, Sella, & Leys.

"They are used to tap into a fragment of the power of 'Heroic Spirits' contained within the Throne of Heroes" Sapphire continued her explanation. "Using myself and _née-san_ as mediums, Illya-san and Miyu-sama are able to use the cards to call upon those Heroic Spirits' weapons. In rare cases, they are able to instead use _themselves_ as mediums for the Spirits' power; Illya-san once used the Archer card to fight against the Saber Card's corrupted spirit, while Miyu-sama has 'Installed' the Saber Card to fight the Berserker-Card's spirit, and the Rider against Bazett a short while ago. Kuro-san could be said to be in a permanent 'Install' with the Archer card; in fact, it is in immaterial form in her heart, and is serving as an 'anchor' for her existence. If it were dispelled or removed, she would die. Nobody knows where the Cards came from, and there are only 'supposed' to be seven. The existence of an eighth is most unexpected."

"Cards that summon the power of the seven Classes…" Sella said, some shock in her tone.

"The names and abilities of the Classes you mentioned…" Irisviel said to 'Team Illya'. "I know them all too well. They are the names of the seven types of Servants used in the Holy Grail Wars. Caster, Archer, Berserker, Saber, Lancer, Assassin, Rider… During the Grail Wars, mages didn't simply call upon the power of Heroic Spirits in the Throne of Heroes; it actually summoned the Spirits themselves, seven Master/Servant pairs fighting and killing each other for the right to access the Holy Grail's power."

"S-Summoning the… Heroic Spirits themselves…" Miyu breathed out, in awe.

"There were only ever seven Classes of Servant. This business with an eighth Class Card… It's puzzling, and worrying."

"Whatever it is," Leysritt spoke up, "we've got you girls' backs. And now that we know exactly what kinda trouble you girls are involved in, we can better help you – even if it's just providing support."

"Right. And as for these 'Heartless' things… You say their leader is a 'Fallen' Keyblade Master?"

"Yeah" Riku nodded. "Xehanort. He's ruined a lot of lives in his plots over the years… mine included; it took a lot of work for me and my friend Sora to get me out of the pit of darkness Xehanort's machinations led me to falling into…"

"H-How do you know what the Keyblades are, mama?" Illya asked.

Irisviel smiled. "There was a lone, traveling Wielder who visited this world during the Fourth War. She was instrumental in helping me and Kiritsugu get out of that mess alive. Though, she was unable to stop the Grail's corruption from causing a hellish fire. The only survivor Kiritsugu found was… a young five-year-old boy named Shirou."

"Eh? …Ehhh?-! _Onii-chan?-!_ "

"That's right! Honey and I took him in, since he'd lost everything else, including virtually all of his memories of his short life before that night… The Keyblade lady helped Kiritsugu save Shirou, though we had to seal a powerful healing-based magical artifact inside to do it. She also managed to heal the damage from the slight 'exposure' Kiritsugu got to the Grail's corruption. Then she left, saying there were other people out there who needed her help. I never did get her name…"

"Maybe she was the same one who found Kanba Kanade when he was little and performed the Rite with him…" Teana mused.

"Well, whatever comes next," Salia spoke up, "we'll help you guys handle it. At least this 'Grail War' thing can't happen anymore, right?"

"That's correct" Sella replied. "In addition to wiping out the more… 'troublesome' members of her clan, Irisviel-sama and Kiritsugu-san sabotaged the leyline convergence point needed to trigger the Ritual. The chaos and death of the Grail Wars, of the Holy Grail's dark corruption, can't happen anymore."

"…How _did_ it get corrupted, anyway?" Tiida asked. "Was it always like that?"

Iris shook her head. "From what little I understand, it was a result of something that happened in the Third War, 90 years ago. I don't know the details, sorry."

"In any case," Sella said, "I suppose things are settled for now, at least until this 'Xehanort' makes his move, or the Eighth Card goes active. Miyu-san, you can stay at our house until Ms. Edelfelt's house is rebuilt. After the exhausting beating you girls took, I think we'll be calling you out of school tomorrow so you can all rest and recuperate."

"Alright" Kuro replied. "In a couple of days, though, we're gonna go with Illya's friends and get some swimsuits & stuff; summer vacation's only, like, a week away."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **Unknown Location, Unknown Realm**

"What do you have for me, partner?"

At Xehanort's address, Ganondorf smirked. "I have built up enough energy to resurrect two of my former champions, to add to our forces. I believe they will prove most useful in providing some extra 'muscle' to our side."

"Very well. Let us see…"

Ganondorf nodded, and then channeled his dark power through his Keyblade and his Triforce of Power. A black light formed in the center of a slowly revolving dark-purple rune circle, growing in intensity. Finally, with a dark flash, two figures formed. Opening their eyes, they immediately understood that the 'man' before them was their lord and master, and they bowed.

"Welcome to the Seekers of Darkness, my warriors" the 'King of Evil' said. "You will serve me and my partner well."

"Of course, milord" the rogue Twili known as Zant replied, his voice somewhat muffled by the chameleon-esque metal helmet he wore. "At your command, the darkness shall conquer all."

"It has been so long since my last life…" Ghirahim said, a small wicked grin on his pale face. "I can't wait to see what our enemies have to offer…"

"And of course," Xehanort spoke up, "there is also my own newest underling. I admit a bit of anticipation to see how they'll do…"

- _Break_ -

Under the moonlight, the girl known as Sakura Matou walked along an empty street, heading for 'home'. Suddenly, as she walked past a shadow-hidden alley, a lone figure stepped out of it, to her side. Their whole body was shrouded in a black cloak, hiding their identity. Looking at her, the figure abruptly reached out, and Sakura gasped and stiffened as a black-gloved hand was laid upon her head. For some reason, she had an instantaneous recollection of everything that had happened to her over the years. Then, the figure released her.

"Apologies" the figure said in a deep, contralto woman's voice. "I mistook you for someone else."

The figure then turned and walked away, back into the shadows, leaving a perplexed Sakura behind, the purple-haired girl staring into the darkness for a few seconds before then hurrying on her way.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Quoth TV-Tropes: "If Leysritt's abilities are _anything_ like her mainline counterpart, she's actually strong enough to potentially take on _Heroic Spirits_. Not to mention she may also be keeping her massive poleaxe around. Chances are she could possibly take on _Bazett_ in a straight fight." Me: "…Well, okay then."

The bit with Teana's skill-set is partly because I… well, kinda realized that I myself had been underestimating Canon!Teana's versatility with those things, and… well, the _Vivid_ anime's rendition of the big mock-battle shows that Canon!Teana's Crossfire-Shot bolts can hit with a lot more force than Travels!Teana's presently can – comparing an AP grenade to an artillery shell, almost.

Regarding Fuuka's appearance: Vivio and Einhart being younger – and closer in age – than in the 'canon' timeline is not the only "background" change in the DDF-verse. Fuuka & Rinne were born earlier here, so their stories begin a few years ahead of in canon… and thanks to Sasuke finding Fuuka, that story may face further changes in the months to come…


	2. New Shadows

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

For the local girls, school was out for summer. Illya, Kuro, Miyu, and their handful of friends from school had made their long-planned trip to the beach in order to celebrate the three girls' shared birthday, though there had been some craziness afterwards. Luvia, meanwhile, had begun construction on a way to reach the Eighth Card's subterranean resting place, her vast wealth making the task only a step above 'trivial'. The DDF, meanwhile, continued their patrol & monitoring of the city and surrounding areas, though they got a healthy bit of relaxation and bonding with the local group as well, including Fuuka getting along well with the same-aged Illya, Kuro, & Miyu, while Tiida met Shirou at one point… and noticed that the youth's Linker Core was _not_ totally dormant like one would expect from a 'Mundane'. Curious…

Now, a day later, a couple DDF teams were going out on stealth-patrol for the evening. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were handling one area, while Riku and Salia took another. The young Keyblade Master and the dual-typed Awakened warrior had quickly formed a friendship of sorts, to the point of spending time together when off-duty. Salia had to admit, not only was Riku kind, he was actually kinda hot, too…

As the duo moved through a quiet, presently-deserted courtyard in the city's older quadrant, Riku suddenly held out a hand to stop as he heard a sound he had become familiar with: the soft sound of a Corridor of Darkness opening nearby. They both turned, and saw as a person wearing that oh-so-familiar black cloak emerged from the shadows, hidden eyes staring at the two young 'heroes'. In response, Riku summoned his 'Way to the Dawn', taking a waiting stance, while with a flash of light around herself Salia summoned her armor, igniting her green and blue psi-blades, her eyes faintly glowing with waiting psionic power.

"…I am a bit surprised to see you here" the black-cloaked figure spoke, a woman's deep and imposing contralto.

"Well, I have been a bit busy lately" Riku replied.

"I wasn't speaking to you. …No matter. I have been given a new lease on life, and a new source of power. All thanks to a new 'master', a teacher who understands and appreciates my talents, who seeks to nurture and help me control the fury within me… so that I can unlock my true potential, and use it to enact _untold pain and suffering_ on those who have betrayed or turned their backs on me."

The woman reached up, pulling her hood back, and Salia gasped in shock, even trembling for a few seconds, as the familiar black hair held in a high ponytail came free, together with eyes that glowed a dull red with dark psionic power.

"Now then, Salia…" Alektra von Loewenherz, newest disciple of Master Xehanort, spoke. "Perhaps I'll start with you…"

Riku and Salia leapt back as Alektra cast off her coat, showing her Tal'darim-style Awakened armor now with a darker color scheme (if that were even possible)… as well as her new right arm, pitch-black with faint dark-blue lines along it. It looked like a Neoshadow's arm, slightly modified to serve as a human's prosthetic. The psi-blade of that arm's gauntlet ignited, the crimson energy now surrounded by wisps of black miasma. Then, she held her left hand out, and a bar-shaped mass of Darkness power flashed into existence and solidified to reveal a very familiar type of weapon – a white handle with a rectangular, black guard with thin, orange edges with rectangular spikes at the corners, a wide, black shaft with silver concave edges, a flat tip with 'teeth' of three short, flat-tipped spikes, and an orange line that extended up along the blade from a diamond toward the base.

"Total Eclipse" – a Keyblade.

Wielding her new dark weapon with one hand and brandishing the psi-blade attached to the other, Alektra charged at the two heroes. Riku reacted quickly, bringing the Way to Dawn up to block an overhead swing of Alektra's Total Eclipse, and then leapt back to avoid a horizontal slice from the woman's red psi-blade. He fired a Blizzara at her, but she used her Keyblade to bat the ice blast aside, and began charging red lightning in her right hand. She had to break that off, however, as Salia came in from the side, a barrage of swings and thrusts forcing Alektra back, blocking what she didn't dodge. Alektra managed to land a counter-blow that knocked Salia back, and then fired a dark-red orb of crackling psionic energy, only for Riku to intercept with a Dark Barrier to protect the Awakened warrior.

Dispelling her psi-blade, Alektra gripped her Keyblade with both hands and moved in again, making heavier strikes that hammered against Riku's guard. The youth gritted his teeth as he gave a little ground under the fierce assault, until Salia again moved in to relieve him, attacking Alektra from the side and forcing her back enough to give Riku a little breathing room. Alektra released a directed pulse of psionic power that made Salia stagger back, taking the opportunity to leap back about 5 meters. She fired a Dark Firaga at the girl, and then dispelled her Keyblade and charged at Riku with both psi-blades ignited, unleashing a barrage of whirling strikes and sudden stabs that the young Keyblade Master nonetheless managed to dodge, block, or parry. He formed a Dark Barrier and shoved it forward as a battering ram, knocking Alektra back and stunning her. He then went for a stabbing thrust with his Keyblade…

Suddenly, with a brief burst of diamond-shaped particles, a second enemy joined the fight, lancing out with a kick that knocked Riku back. Salia moved back beside him, the two of them checking out the new arrival. It was a man with a tall, thin build, somewhat androgynous facial features, bone-white hair that swept over to cover his left eye, a pair of pointed elven ears that had blue diamond earrings hanging from them, skin of a pale green hue, purple pigmentation around his eyes that looked like eyeliner, and was wearing a tight white suit with diamond patterns down the legs, similar-patterned white gloves, a gold sash/belt with a red diamond-shaped gem on the right side, and a dark-red mantle that covered his shoulders and flowed down his back. His energy signature, dark and twisted, was definitely not human.

"I didn't need your help, Ghirahim" Alektra grumbled.

"Oh, I know, dear…" the 'man' replied. "But the fight just looked too fun for me to observe from a distance."

"Xehanort has _two_ new lackeys?" Riku said.

The 'demon lord' chuckled. "No, boy. I am a servant of Xehanort's partner in 'crime', Lord Ganondorf. Ages ago I served Demise, the demon king from whom Ganondorf was 'spawned' upon his defeat. He brought myself and one other back to aid his & Xehanort's plans. Ah, but imagine my surprise to discover I had been brought into a grand conflict where both sides wielded Keyblades! Those ancient weapons of Light and Darkness, whose wielders once clashed in a war that nearly shattered all of Creation! And my lord and his partner seek to bring that great darkness about once again? How could I say no?-!"

Ghirahim turned to Alektra. "Let's make this a proper two-on-two, shall we?"

He held out his hand, and in a burst of pixelated Darkness a long, thin blade of dark-grey metal formed, looking somewhat like a dueling saber. As he moved it through the air, the blade seemed to leave a black, flowing afterimage. Then, he and his 'partner' charged. Ghirahim went for Riku, the clanging of metal echoing out as they engaged in a high-speed exchange of blades. At the same time, Alektra attacked her former protégé, matching Salia's practiced skill and natural talent with her greater experience and ferocity. She dispelled her right psi-blade and re-summoned her Keyblade in that artificial arm, the weapon's greater reach making things more difficult for Salia. The Hybrid Khalai/Nerazim-type Awakened did her best to keep up, though, ensuring that she wasn't entirely on the defensive.

With a snap of his fingers, Ghirahim conjured several red diamond-shaped daggers floating in the air around him, and they then flew at Riku in a deadly fusillade. The young Master deflected them with the Way to Dawn, but Ghirahim took the chance to pull a short-range teleport, appearing beside Riku and slashing out. Riku threw himself to the side, taking a glancing blow, and used Cura to heal himself before then throwing his Keyblade in a Strike Raid. Ghirahim chuckled and teleported out of the way, appearing in the air directly above Riku with a falling strike, only for the youth to use the Reverse Recall trick to teleport himself to his Keyblade, avoiding the blow and then countering with a Dark Impulse, firing a wave of Darkness-type bolts that Ghirahim formed a barrier to shield against. The instant Ghirahim lowered his barrier, he grunted in pain as Riku flashed past in a Sonic Blade strike, dealing some damage.

"So you _are_ able to pose a challenge" the demon-lord said with a grin.

Glowing blades of blue, green, and red energy clashed as Salia and Alektra dueled. Salia leapt back and fired a blue orb of psionic energy, only for Alektra to bat it away with her Total Eclipse. The dark warrior then extended her hand and released a torrent of crimson psionic lightning, and Salia quickly crossed her psi-blades in front to block the attack, the blue and green energies flaring as they worked to dissipate the attack. The dark-blue-haired girl gritted her teeth as the force of the continuous attack pushed at her arms, threatening to overcome her guard. Alektra started walking closer while keeping up her psionic lightning, and Salia cried out as this finally gave the attack enough power to break through and hit her, red energy crackling across her armor, making the shields flare and fail.

Suddenly, before she could do more damage or move in for the kill, Alektra's eyes widened as she leapt back to avoid a falling sword-strike from a newcomer to the battle. Surprised, Ghirahim broke off from dueling Riku, allowing the young Keyblade Master to hurry over to Salia and cast Curaga on her. The two of them looked at the new arrival as he straightened up.

"Seems like everywhere I go it's to save someone in the nick of time" said the man – tall, with slightly 'wild' black hair and roughly-shaven stubble on his face, wearing a two-toned grey shirt, black pants, and red thigh-length cape, hefting a greatsword that appeared to be composed of interlocking segments, with a clockwork-like structure where the handle met the blade. He turned to Riku and Salia with a little grin.

"Hey kids," the veteran Hunter known as Qrow Branwen said, "mind if I cut in?"

After a moment, Riku allowed himself a small smirk. "Not at all. We could use the help."

"You sure could…"

"I don't recognize you from the reports…" Alektra said.

"Well, this is my first time leaving my home Realm, gettin' involved with DDF business."

"We'll make sure it's your last."

Qrow chuckled. "Let's see ya try."

He charged, moving faster than his two enemies suspected, and Ghirahim barely got his blade up in time to block a strike from Qrow's sword. Alektra came in from the left, swinging her Keyblade at Qrow's neck, but the old Huntsman gave up the chance for a follow-up strike against Ghirahim in order to duck under her swing and leap back. The instant Qrow's feet hit the ground, Riku and Salia charged in past him, the former throwing his Way to Dawn in a Strike Raid to knock Alektra off-balance and following with a few magic-strengthened punches that hammered at her armor. Meanwhile, Salia used a Nerazim Void Jump to close in behind Ghirahim, who ducked under her swing and pulled off his own 'Black Diamond Warp' to try the same thing against her, only to be dodged. This set off a teleport duel, both combatants warping around to strike at or dodge each other.

Alektra spun around a diagonal swing from Riku and went to stab him in the back, but Qrow moved in close and smacked her away with the broad side of his sword, and then he pressed the assault against her, the sound of clanging metal ringing out as her Keyblade and his greatsword clashed. She switched to wielding her Keyblade one-handed and activated her right arm's psi-blade, two blades letting her fend a little better, though the Aura that Qrow channeled through his weapon protected it from the superheated energy.

Just as Riku moved in to help Qrow push Alektra back, Salia & Ghirahim's fight moved in closer, and Ghirahim made a spearing saber thrust at Qrow while Salia swung her blue psi-blade at Alektra, only for both attacks to be dodged. A fast-paced, close-in 3-on-2 scrap ensued; despite the close range and chaotic nature of it, neither the three heroes nor the two villains got in each other's way. But, Qrow's strength & skill and the fact it was 3-on-2 meant that the fight soon turned against Alektra & Ghirahim, the two of them starting to take hits. They managed to break off, getting some distance, and the fight briefly paused as the two sides sized each other up.

Suddenly, Ghirahim and Alektra both perked up, as they received a telepathic summons from their masters.

"I'm afraid we will have to settle this another day" Ghirahim announced to the hero trio. "We have been called away by Lord Ganondorf and Master Xehanort; it appears they have another task for us. Farewell for now~."

The 'demon lord' stepped closer to Alektra and then swept his cape outward, and he & Alektra vanished in a burst of sparkling black diamond-like patterns that winked out after a second or so.

"…So" Qrow turned to Riku. "What else is happening on this world?"

"You planning to stick around and help?" the youth asked.

"Depends…"

"How the hell did Alektra end up pledging loyalty to Xehanort?" Salia murmured. "Was she really that desperate for power?"

"Xehanort's really good at manipulating people" Riku replied. "With her past, it probably wasn't hard for him to get a foothold."

"Sounds familiar…" Qrow mused.

"Yeah, you mentioned the 'big bad' of your Realm. …You think Xehanort and this 'Salem' might ever try to join forces?"

"Hard to say. I don't really know enough about the guy to say whether or not he and she would get along. 'Course, if they _did_ team up they'd probably try to backstab each other the second their goals diverged… or when one of 'em just got greedy for the final 'prize'. Anyway, where we headed?"

"Follow us" Salia replied. "We'll fill you in on the details and intel on the locals on the way. …Happy to have another heavy hitter with us, sir. Might be a bit overkill with the Uchiha Quartet also here, but better to have more than you need than less…"

 **-** _ **BREAK**_ **-**

 **FLASHBACK SEQUENCE**

 **Realm CA-R8**

In his private garden 'refuge', the man known as Embryo lounged with a single glass of red wine. The 'war' to reclaim control of this planet was progressing, though being met with one obstacle after another. And just yesterday he'd lost one of his 'heavy combat' bodies thanks to that… beautiful, fierce golden warrior who had shone like an angel even as she pounded him into the dirt with demonically-powerful attacks. The cause was not lost yet, though; all in all, he was doing fairly well.

"Living the good life, are we?"

Slightly startled, Embryo frowned as he got to his feet and looked around, extending his senses to try and detect the interloper. A few seconds later, a Corridor of Darkness opened nearby, and from it walked an old man with tanned skin and a bald head, his ears slightly pointed, eyes an orangish gold. Despite his unassuming appearance, Embryo could immediate sense that this man was very powerful, his old body brimming with potent magical energies.

"So you are the 'Tuner of Worlds' I've heard so much about…" the old man said in a low, gravelly voice.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Mister…"

"My name is Xehanort. I lead a small organization known as the 'Seekers of Darkness'."

"And what brings you here, 'Xehanort'?"

The old man smirked. "…You passed up a valuable find, Embryo. In what you threw away as useless, I was able to see the true talent and potential to become something greater. I have taken Alektra as a new student and disciple; I shall make her into a fine warrior, a wielder of Darkness who shall exceed your expectations of her several-fold. If the people of the Dimensional Defense Force do not strike you down, then with my guidance she will. Of course, perhaps I could make things a bit easier for whoever ends up giving you your final defeat…"

Xehanort held his hand out, and a 'flash' of Darkness accompanied the summoning of his Keyblade, the air immediately around the silver & black weapon surging with barely-restrained dark power. Embryo's eyes widened as he recognized that his opponent was holding a Keyblade, and then he barely had time to bring his own blade up to bear as the old Master rushed at him with startling speed, lashing out with a strike bearing tremendous power, almost knocking Embryo off his feet when he blocked. Xehanort pressed his assault, pushing Embryo back and finally knocking the sword out of his hand. Embryo fired a blast of mana, but Xehanort batted it aside and then speared his Keyblade through the green-suited man's chest, slashing outward to nearly bisect him.

As Embryo's body fell to the ground, it broke apart into countless tiny bluish-green mana particles. A few seconds later, a flash of blue light nearby accompanied Embryo reappearing, now controlling one of his 'heavy combat' bodies. With a frown on his face, he re-summoned his sword, an aura of energy flaring to life around him. Xehanort let out a low chuckle, and fired a Triple Blizzaga at the 'Tuner'. Embryo dodged two of the ice blasts and shielded against the third, and then charged at the 'fallen' Keyblade Master, moving faster than before. As Xehanort brought his weapon up to guard, he noticed that Embryo's attacks had become stronger as well. The old man smirked; his opponent was taking him seriously now.

Having studied a bit on other styles of magic besides the one he'd grown up on, Xehanort cast a Dark-type _Sagitta Magica_ , making 13 of the dark-magic arrows rush at Embryo from above and either side. Embryo avoided with a short-range backwards teleport, appearing a few meters back from Xehanort, and with a wave of his hand he released a high-speed slicing wave of energy. Master Xehanort cast Dark Barrier, the purple-hued shield spell withstanding the hit but with a gouge carved into it. Dropping the shield, the old Master held his Keyblade high and conjured several sizable boulders wreathed in dark magic. With a downward wave of his weapon he sent them careening down towards Embryo, who started moving about to dodge them, the huge rocks burying themselves in the ground. The last one, bigger than the others, was coming right at him, but he pointed his palm up and fired a mana blast that blew it to bits.

Embryo went on the offensive, dashing in and striking at Xehanort with a rapid, unceasing barrage of strikes, swings, and stabs. Xehanort, in turn, moved with more speed and agility than one would expect from looking at him, parrying or dodging every single attack, though he actually had to put in a bit of effort to do so. Finally, he took advantage of a split-second opening, jabbing Embryo in the chest with the hilt of his Keyblade and then smacking him in the face with the weapon's broad side, making Embryo stagger back. Xehanort then fired a Dark Firaga, but Embryo recovered in time to send a pulse of power that hit the fireball, canceling it out.

As the battle went on, it slowly became clear that Xehanort had the advantage, proving just a bit faster, stronger, and more skilled than Embryo. The 'Tuner' was being slowly pushed back and ground down, and though Xehanort wasn't completely unscathed and full-of-stamina, he was in noticeably better shape than his opponent. As they moved into another rapid exchange of blades, Xehanort charged his Keyblade and his arm muscles with a large amount of dark-magic power, and swung as hard as he could. When Embryo tried to block, his overworked sword snapped in two, the metal failing catastrophically, letting the swing keep going to slash almost completely through his body in a spray of blood.

Xehanort stepped back as his vanquished foe's corpse fell. Embryo's consciousness admitted defeat, especially since he'd lost one of his two 'unbreakable' blades and didn't want to risk the other. If this old Master was training Alektra…

…No matter. This 'Xehanort' would fall eventually. Until that time came, Embryo had other things to attend to…

 **-** _ **BREAK**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Present Day – Next Day**

Teana, Hinata, and Illya followed Irisviel into the mountain cavern; the other DDF members and those of 'Team Illya' were busy, but Iris wanted to at least show these three (well, Hinata was a tagalong, but Iris didn't mind) something she considered important, something "connected to this world's past". They soon found themselves in a huge cavern inside/underneath Mt. Enzou, seemingly totally empty.

"Where are we, mama?" Illya asked.

"This is where, in the Holy Grail Wars, the Greater Grail would be summoned upon each War's completion. It was here, a little less than 10 years ago, that Kiritsugu and I sabotaged the leylines to prevent the Grail War from happening anymore. It took some doing, but we ensured that the destruction and bloodshed of those conflicts could never happen ag-"

"Something's not right" Teana interrupted. "Does anyone else feel that?"

"Ohhh, you noticed us?"

At the new voice, everyone went on guard; Teana drew Cross Mirage in Longsword Mode, Illya readied Ruby, and Hinata channeled chakra into her fingertips. They looked around, but couldn't see the man who'd spoken… until he seemed to step into view from nowhere, revealing a tall man with a scarred, eyepatched face and grey-streaked black hair, wearing a familiar black cloak.

"Yo" Xigbar said with a grin.

Flashes of orange and pink light accompanied Teana and Illya transforming, while Hinata activated her Byakugan and took a stance, and even Iris made ready, her magical energies held just beneath the surface.

"Interesting info, this 'Holy Grail War' stuff we've heard about" Xigbar said with a casual tone. "Releasing a corruptive ultimate Darkness on the world? Shame we can't do that anymore, thanks to you. …Or _can_ we?"

Irisviel flared with light-green energy, giant fists of solid-magic 'strings' forming. "You will _not_ restart the Wars! I won't let you!"

Xigbar laughed. "'Let me'? Oh honey, I think you're a bit late…"

He then snapped his fingers, deactivating the spatial distortion he'd had active to hide everything behind him… revealing Xemnas, Checker (in human form), and Zant standing around the edges of a complex-looking magic rune-circle, the three of them putting the finishing touches to the powerful spell contained within. Iris gasped and then panickedly fired a mana blast at them, but Xigbar casually drew one of his 'arrow-guns' and shot her blast out of the air. The spell-circle pulsed with light, and then sunk into the earth. After a second, there was an infrasonic 'thump' accompanied by a pulse of magic that raced out. Across the whole region, anyone magically sensitive enough felt it, though only a few knew enough to understand what it meant. In the cavern, Irisviel almost fell to her knees, a look of horror on her face.

"The leyline reparation is complete" Zant reported. "The Grail Wars shall resume! And with them, darkness will cover this land!"

"For now, we shall step back and observe" Xemnas said. "See how things play out…"

"Savor your 'peaceful days' while you can, kiddos" Xigbar said with a malicious grin. "'Cause before long, all hell's gonna break loose around here!"

He warped over to his allies, and the four of them vanished through a Dark Corridor.

"Damn it…" Iris pounded her fist against the ground, the rock cracking from the magic-imbued force. "Damn it! After everything we did!"

"W-We'll make sure things turn out right" Hinata tried to reassure her. "Somehow…"

"…I need to inform Kiritsugu. I've already told him about the DDF, and about the 'adventures' Illya-chan has gotten involved in. Now I've got another bombshell for him, and I don't think he'll take this one as well…"

The quartet soon made their way out of the cave, heading home to spread the word. Team Illya and the DDF would have to be prepared. The Fifth Grail War was coming…

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**


	3. Servants

I knew I'd hit a "didn't do the research" roadblock of some sort; in Fate/Zero canon Illya was already physically older than a baby by the time of the Fourth War, having been born 8 years earlier.

…Well, it's not the first time I've made big backstory & timeline changes. In the DDF-verse, though she was born with the knowledge of Grail Conduit, Illya was A) born only a few months before the Fourth War, and B) thus still a baby physically. The war _mostly_ progressed as canon, except early on Kiritsugu came to the decision that his wife  & child were more important, and thus accepted the Mysterious Keyblade Lady's help in getting them out of the whole mess alive (thus managing to at least partially redeem himself in Saber's eyes, as well). The rest of the divergence, we'll hear from the man himself in this chapter.

Also, some of you may notice similarities in parts of this to Shadow Crystal Mage's "FATE: Holy Grail War of 2814"; consider it an homage, one I have his explicit permission to use.

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **Few Days Later**

A lot of people were on edge. Irisviel had contacted Kiritsugu, informing him of what had happened, and he promised to head back home the moment his current case was finished.

Though they couldn't tell who or why, monitoring of fluctuations in the city's background mana confirmed that one Servant had already been summoned. Tohsaka had met with the old priest Kotomine Kirei, the man who was technically her guardian, and he revealed that he had been chosen as the Fifth War's 'overseer'. He also passed on an interesting tidbit: whichever Servant had been summoned, he or she had promptly killed their summoner… and judging by the signs and evidence at the scene, they'd done it out of moral indignation at their summoner's cruelty, planning to sacrifice several kidnapped children to fuel the Servant's power. The unknown Servant in question had chosen to kill their vile 'Master' and free the children rather than stoop to such a low.

Heartless and Unversed attacks had also stepped up a little, as if drawn by the darkness of the dormant Grail and by the feeling of general unease that now settled over the area. Right now, Illya and Miyu were accompanying Kiba (and Akamaru) and Salia to clear out a 'nest' of Unversed trying to set up in the hills bordering the city's 'old' section, near Mt. Enzou. There were more than expected.

" _Schneiden_!"

With a wide swing of Kaleid Ruby, Illya released a slicing wave of pink energy that bisected multiple Floods and two Scrappers. Nearby, Kiba & Akamaru used _Gatsūga_ to shred two Buckle Bruisers before they knew what hit them. Salia had her psi-blades active as she engaged a pack of Monotruckers, while Miyu provided cover fire against the Red-Hot Chilis and Sonic Blasters that tried to attack the Awakened warrior from above.

"Heh. This ain't so bad" Kiba said with a grin as he killed a Flood by stomping on it. "A good Genin team could take these guys!"

Right after he said that, there was an echoing roar. Then, a large figure dropped in – apparently legless, but with two arms with claw-tipped hands clutching a large hammer. A Form-II Iron Imprisoner

"You just _had_ to say it, dog-boy…" Kaleid Ruby complained.

The huge Unversed swung its hammer down, and Kiba & Akamaru barely avoided getting squashed. The creature then turned its gaze to Salia just as she fired off two blue and green psionic orbs at it, striking it in the chest and knocking it back but not doing significant damage. The monster now tried to crush her, advancing while swinging its weapon, powering through the bolts of Psionic Lightning she threw at it.

Hoping to help Salia by distracting the Iron Imprisoner, Miyu fired a concentrated high-yield blast of blue magical power at the beast's face. It left a scorch mark on the Imprisoner's face (or was it a mask?), and the beast turned its attention to the little girl. The high-level Unversed wreathed the head of its hammer in flames and making a wide but fast horizontal swing, momentum ensuring that when the strike hit the quick star-shaped triple-shield Miyu tossed up it broke through the first two easily and smashed the third right back into her. Miyu cried out in surprised pain as she was sent flying, slamming into a tree and sliding down it. The Form-2 Iron Imprisoner roared and charged (well, floated) towards her, with the others rushing in, trying to intercept. Illya got there first, placing herself between the monster and her friend, putting everything she had into a barrier even though she knew her shields were a bit weaker than Miyu's…

There was a flash of light from Illya's position, her shields suddenly becoming brighter and more 'solid', and the Iron Imprisoner's hammer strike bounced off. Though holding Kaleid Ruby in her right hand, in her left Illya was now wielding something brand-new. The guard was bronze and looked like part of a violin, with a 'shaft' made of a heavily stylized line of music, shades of blue with golden quarter-notes. The tip and 'teeth' were a red & gold treble clef topped with a star-pointed wizard's hat. Everyone – especially Illya herself – looked in awe at the white-haired girl's newly-awakened "Counterpoint"-form Keyblade.

"I… h-have a Keyblade…" Illya said in a slightly dazed, stunned voice.

"Illya-san, here it comes again!"

Snapped out of it by Ruby's warning, Illya looked up to see the Iron Imprisoner approaching, its hammer wreathed in fire; it sensed the danger of her new weapon, and wanted to take her out first, and quickly. She and Miyu dodged (Kaleid Sapphire was already working to quickly repair Miyu's injuries), and Illya swung her new Keyblade and Kaleid Ruby in an 'X' pattern, releasing a double _Schneiden_. The linked slicing waves of magic were brighter and more powerful than before, hitting the Imprisoner in the chest and knocking it back, leaving an X-shaped scar/gouge in its chest.

"Illya-san, I've analyzed the Keyblade's magic signature and the energies shown in some of the 'footage' we saw earlier, and I think I can replicate something to help us. Miyu-chan, lend us some of your power!"

"H-How?" the black-haired girl asked. "What do you mean?"

"Focus on your bond with Illya, and on the energy of her Keyblade, and will your energy over to her!"

Not fully grasping Ruby's words but willing to give it a shot, Miyu closed her eyes and concentrated. A couple seconds later, she gasped as she felt her magical power instantaneously flow towards Illya and her Keyblade, and then Illya's body was engulfed in a flash of bright light. When it faded, her outfit had changed; the purplish tinge at the tips of her four-point cape were now blue, as were the little wings on her boots and her hair-ties, and the white parts of her outfit now had a blue tint to them. Her feet floated atop a tiny 'layer' of magic a centimeter or so off the ground. Magical energy sparkled around her, especially around her feet and at the tip of her Keyblade.

"Wisdom Form success!" Kaleid Ruby announced. "Most of the donated power from Miyu-chan, as well as a lot of your transformed state's basic strength-enhancing magic, has been routed to your offensive magic power for you and your Keyblade. This is a ranged-attacking, magic-oriented form, Illya-chan. Time to try it out!"

Illya pointed Ruby and Counterpoint at the Unversed and fired a standard mana blast. Instead, _three_ blasts came out, two smaller ones rapidly corkscrewing around the larger central one, which was noticeably more powerful than Illya's base-form's blasts. The compound-blast of Light magic hit the Form-2 Iron Imprisoner in the upper chest, impacting and detonating with significant force, dealing quite a bit of magic damage to the Darkness creature. The monster roared in pained rage, and tried to charge her again. Magical knowledge that hadn't been there before came to Illya's head, and she held her Keyblade high and called out:

"Thunder!"

Several bolts of yellow Lightning-type magic crashed down onto the Imprisoner from above, dealing further damage. Then, Kiba came in with a _Tsūga_ attack right at the X-shaped 'scar' on the Unversed's front, being swatted away after a few seconds but leaving a 'small' hole in the monster's chest. Illya glided forward while charging a bigger mana blast, sliding around the Unversed's hammer swing, and fired the shot right at the hole. The blast punched out the back of the Iron Imprisoner, which fell to the ground and toppled over, breaking apart into raw Darkness particles that soon winked out of existence.

The magic of Illya's "Drive Form" left her, separating into her and Miyu's energies, the latter returning to their owner.

"That was… a rush…" the white-haired girl said, panting slightly. "I can't believe I have a Keyblade…"

"We should hurry back and show everyone" Salia said. "Riku-kun can start training you in wielding that thing."

- _Break_ -

"Oh my…"

Irisviel's response to seeing her daughter show off her new Keyblade pretty much summed up everyone's reaction.

"But how did it happen?" Sasuke asked. "As far as I know, nobody's performed the Rite of Succession with her…"

"That didn't stop Erika from manifesting hers" Riku replied. "Just her having a pure Heart and wanting to protect her boyfriend was somehow enough."

"Actually," Iris spoke again, "that Keyblade woman I told you about? When she saved me and baby Illya-chan, my little girl reached out for that woman's pretty, shiny weapon and touched it with her tiny little hand. Maybe that was enough…?"

Though blushing faintly at a reference to her as a baby, Illya figured that it made sense; according to the 'footage', Kairi had become a wielder the same way, when at the age of four she'd touched Aqua's Keyblade while the young Master was defending her from attackers.

"In any case," Teana said, "you guys mentioned that Illya-chan's power level dropped when Kuro-chan came into existence? Well, her power level feels higher now than it did when we first got here."

"You are correct" Kaleid Sapphire replied, activating her scanner. "Illya-sama's power level, while not quite back to where it was before Kuro-san's creation, is not far below that – notably higher than before. Perhaps awakening her Keyblade 'unlocked' some of her 'lost' potential?"

"Well, whatever the case, I've got an idea for something. Hey Illya-chan, would you like to learn a big "ultimate finisher" type spell?"

 **-** _ **BREAK**_ **-**

 **One Week Later**

Shirou Emiya was having a weird day, and it wasn't necessarily the good kind of 'weird'. He'd stayed late at school, past sunset, in order to perform some cleaning and repairs (the latter made a bit easier by what little magic his father had secretly taught him, enabling him to 'read' objects and thus immediately tell exactly what was broken and how; that, along with 'Object Reinforcement' and some very basic physical-enhancement magic, was all that Kiritsugu had taught him, however). On his way out, he'd heard what sounded like a fight… and when he'd headed outside to look, he had borne witness to a clash between titans – two men moving with such speed and lethal power, with such potent magical-energy signatures, that right away Shirou had known they weren't entirely human.

Then things had gotten bad. He'd been noticed, and had immediately run for his life back into the school. Unfortunately, the blue-haired man with the red spear that was so full of primordial magical energy it was ridiculous had shown up and stabbed him through the heart with it, claiming that – much as he disliked it – there were rules about killing witnesses to "battles between Servants". Not long after, he'd somehow woken up, with some kind of red pendant-gem in his hand. He was unharmed, though his body still ached with residual harmful magic, and his chest throbbed.

He'd made his way home… and the blue-wearing man with the spear had shown up again, obviously not happy with "having" to kill Shirou but proceeding with the attempt regardless. He tried to defend himself, but his Reinforcement magic was little use against such a powerhouse. He'd been sent flying by a roundhouse kick clear over to the old toolshed behind the house, had scrambled inside to look for another 'weapon'… and had triggered something even more unbelievable.

Now, he stared in awe at the stunningly beautiful woman with blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, wearing an armored blue & silver dress, and holding what appeared to be the handle of an invisible sword. She looked at him, and spoke:

"Are you my Master?"

For several seconds, Shirou was stunned silent. "Mas…ter…?"

"I, the Saber-class Servant, have come in response to your summons. What are your orders, Master?"

Shirou was snapped out of his stupor by a sudden burning pain on the back of his left hand. He grasped the wrist with his other hand, and saw a strange rune forming.

"The Command Seal…" the woman called 'Saber' spoke as she then turned her gaze to the waiting 'Lancer' outside. "Henceforth, you hold my blade in your hands, and I hold your fate in mine. Our contract is formed."

Then, she dashed out through the shed's open door and charged at Lancer, the two of them engaging in a stunningly fast exchange of blows as the man wielded his huge spear with unnatural speed and grace, as Saber did with her cloaked longsword. A blocked blow knocked him back, but he dug the tip of his weapon into the earth to arrest his movement and then launched himself at her again. Sparks flew and the sound of clanging metal rang out as the duel continued, neither combatant seeming to have the edge in skill (though, this was mainly due to Lancer operating under a Command to work mainly as recon and not fight at full capacity). The two Servants clashed weapons, trying to push and overpower the other, only for them both to break off and pause.

"How cowardly," Lancer remarked, "hiding your weapon like that."

"What's the matter, Lancer?" she asked. "No self-respecting spearman stays rooted to one spot. If you will not come to me, I shall come to you!"

"…Lemme ask you something first. That cloaked weapon of yours is a sword, right?"

"Who knows? It could be a battle-axe, or a spear… or perhaps even a bow."

He scoffed. "You think you're bein' funny, huh, swordswoman?"

He then took a stance, holding his blood-red spear at a downward angle with one foot forward, and Shirou gasped as he remembered the unholy amount of energy he'd been starting to channel into the weapon the last time Shirou saw him in that stance, at the fight in the school courtyard earlier. Remembering that power… Whatever the attack was, if Saber took a direct hit Shirou knew that she would not survive.

Suddenly, another figure leapt onto the scene, landing beside Saber and drawing blades, glaring calmly at Lancer. Shirou recognized the tall, red-cloaked, white-haired figure he had seen fighting Lancer earlier at the school. A few seconds later, another newcomer arrived, and it was someone that – to his surprise – Shirou recognized:

'Tohsaka? From class?'

"Planning to make this a three-way fight, Archer?" Lancer asked.

"No" the red-clad Servant replied. "Two-on-one."

"Why are you helping me?" Saber asked Archer, suspicion filling her voice.

"Well," Archer lowered his voice, "one reason is that my Mistress is attracted to your Master…"

Saber quirked an eyebrow up at that, sparing a brief look at the girl in the red sweater standing on the sidelines.

Lancer sighed, twirling his staff. "So much for a 'fair and honorable' fight."

"I've learned the hard way not to put much faith in 'honor'" Archer replied bitterly.

"If that is true," Saber spoke up, "then I pity you for experiencing such a life as to lead you to lose faith in that."

And then, just when Shirou thought things couldn't get any weirder…

" _What the hell is going on here?-!_ "

The voice of an astonished and mildly outraged little girl cut through the night air, and as the humans and Servants looked up at the white-haired girl in the pink outfit floating in the air above the yard with a rather cross look on her cute face, Shirou's and Archer's eyes widened in utter astonishment.

"Why are you people having a fight in _my backyard_?" Illya asked/shouted. "…Is that you, Rin-san? What's going on here?"

'H-How is Illya a psychologically-normal _magical girl_?' the red-clad Counter Guardian thought. 'This definitely isn't my original timeline…'

"I… Illya?"

Hearing a familiar voice, Illya looked down… and went pale as she saw who was looking right at her with astonished recognition.

"O… _Onii-chan?-!_ …Uh… Um… T-This is… It's cosplay!"

"Considering that you're somehow _flying_ ," Lancer interjected, "I don't think he'll buy that excuse, kid."

"U-Uh… _Auuu~_ …"

"Illya, are you… Are you an actual _magical girl_?"

Realizing there was no way out of this, Illya nodded, a defeated look on her face. "Kuro and Miyu are my teammates, and… Rin-san & Luvia-san are our mentors."

"Calling them 'mentors' is a bit generous, I think" Kaleid Ruby replied. "Hello, Shirou-kun! I'm Kaleid Ruby, Illya-san's magical AI-Spirit partner! We've been doin' the whole 'magical girl' thing for a couple months now."

"The girl has massive magical reserves…" Saber murmured. "And somehow, she looks familiar… She's Master's younger sister? But her mana signature is too different from his. Adoption, perhaps?"

"Illya-san, we need to be careful" Ruby spoke again, suddenly sounding more serious. "Those three… I think they're Servants. And I think your big brother is somehow the Master of one of them."

At that, Illya's eyes widened; how in the world had Shirou, who (as far as she knew) knew nothing of magic, summoned a _Heroic Spirit_? Illya cut off her flight magic, letting herself drop a meter to land on top of the old shed's roof. As soon as her feet hit the roof, however, it made a loud groaning sound, the old cheap wood starting to crack and buckle. Before she could react, it gave way, and with a surprised yelp she fell through a brand-new hole in the roof, landing with a clatter inside the junk-filled shed.

"Owie…" her whine was heard from inside. "…Huh? What's this rune?"

Suddenly, there was a flare of light and a pulse of magical power so intense the bystanders could practically taste it. Then, there was a deep growl like that of a lion, making everyone's hair stand on end. After a few seconds, through the doorway a mass of magical energy emerged, straightening up and taking shape once it was outside, assuming physical form. Now, Illya was looking up with eyes wide as can be as she sat in a giant greyish hand which held her gently and protectively. The hand's owner was a giant a little over eight feet tall, a massive muscled body clad only in wrist-guards & anklets of dull silver & black, and an armored tunic or loincloth over his lower body. A long 'mane' of wild black hair hung down to mid-back, and his eyes were red with black sclera. In his free hand, he hefted a massive axe-sword hewn from rock, resting it on his shoulder.

"Berserker…" Archer breathed out.

Her voice coming out in a few barely-audible confused squeaks, Illya looked up in awe at the massive figure holding her. Strangely, her instincts told her he was not a threat, not to be feared, that he was her _protector_. The 'mad beast' looked down at her, and a spark of gentle caring was in his otherwise-maddened eyes. He then growled as he looked out over the others, but through his link with Illya he instinctively sensed all but Lancer as "ally", while Lancer was "unknown, possible threat". Berserker hefted his axe-sword, staring down at the spearman.

"…Y'know what?" the blue-haired man finally spoke. "Screw this. This is just gettin' too complicated too quickly. …Oh, and it feels like my Master is calling me away, too. See, he only ordered me to observe and do recon, not to fight at full strength, and withdraw if possible. Damned coward, robbing me of a good fight… I guess I'll see you later, Saber, Archer, Berserker, and your Masters. …It's a damn shame my Master's such a rotten, honor-less, fun-less bastard; I think me and you guys coulda gotten along pretty well if we weren't on opposing sites. Catch ya later."

Before they could react, Lancer leapt away with superhuman speed, leaping along the rooftops & power poles and vanishing into the night. Only a handful of seconds later, before anyone could say anything, three more people arrived: Luvia, Miyu, and Kuro, the latter two in their combat outfits.

"Hey!" Kuro pointed to Archer. "You stole my look! And those are the blades I always Project!"

Archer, meanwhile, looked at the dark-skinned girl with a somewhat nonplussed feeling; not only was she claiming to use Projection magic, and not only did her energy signature feel like Illya's _and_ like his own, but…

'Why is a _ten-year-old girl_ wearing such a shamelessly revealing variant of my clothes?'

'…What's with that lewd outfit?' Shirou thought. 'I think big brother might need to lecture her…'

"Oh, my" Kaleid Sapphire spoke. "It appears the situation has become very complicated, very quickly…"

"So you actually managed to summon a Servant, Tohsaka?" Luvia asked. "I'd better step up my game, then…"

"Sorry, blondie" Archer spoke up. "Skinny here" he gestured to Shirou "just accidentally summoned Saber, and Illya did the same with Berserker. All seven Servants have been summoned. Better luck next war…"

"Shirou-san and Illya… _accidentally_ summoned Servants?" Miyu asked, shocked.

Saber turned to look at Shirou, surprised, and the youth sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"I… don't even know what's going on right now" he admitted. "I actually knew the basics about the existence of magic, a few simple concepts, but… all this is way over my head. …I know about Familiars; is a 'Servant' some kind of fancy Familiar?"

As Saber tried to wrap her head around just what kind of Master had summoned her, what sort of situation she was in, Illya looked at her big brother in surprise.

"Wait… _Onii-chan_ , you knew about magic already?"

"A little bit. Dad taught me; mom doesn't know. All I can really do are basic physical-enhancement, as well as reading object properties, and rudimentary Object Reinforcement…"

Then, as she looked at Illya, something finally clicked in Saber's mind.

"Illya…" she murmured, rolling the name around in her head, and then her eyes widened and she let out a soft gasp, looking at the girl. "…Illyasviel?"

"Eh? …How do you know my full name, Saber-san?"

After a few seconds of shock at realizing she was looking at the little baby she'd known 10 years ago, Saber rounded on Shirou. "Master… Shirou… What is your full name? Who are your parents?"

"U-Uh… Shirou Emiya, adopted son of Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel Einzbern…"

Saber now looked thoroughly stunned. And then…

"We're home~!" a woman's cheerful voice called out from the side of the house, approaching. "Is everyone in the backyard for some reason? I brought papa home with me this time~!"

The woman and her husband rounded the corner, and stopped in shock as they saw the unexpected gathering. Seeing the woman's face, Saber's expression softened even as the surprise never left it.

"I… Irisvi-"

The blonde swordswoman was interrupted as Iris launched herself at her, pulling her into a close hug while letting out a happy little squeal.

"Saber-chan~! Oh, I can't believe it's you, after 10 whole years! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"What… is going… on?" Kiritsugu managed to spit out.

With a sigh, Archer walked up to the man, dispelling his twin blades.

"Servant Archer," he introduced himself with a bow, one hand held to his heart, "Servant of Rin Tohsaka. Your boy managed to accidentally summon Saber, and then Illya accidentally summoned a Berserker-class Servant, both using… a rune in your toolshed, it sounded like?"

Kiritsugu couldn't help but wince. "I thought I'd cleaned that up…" he muttered, embarrassed.

"Lancer was here as well, but he left once Berserker was summoned. From what I could tell, he's at least somewhat decent in terms of morality, but he claims to be serving a 'rotten, honor-less bastard' of a Master."

"…Do you and your Master plan to make enemies of my children?"

"Probably not. My Mistress has a crush on Shirou, and she & Illyasviel seem to be on friendly terms with one another as well. …Everything is so different than expected…" he muttered the last part, not realizing he was thinking aloud."

"I think you can dispel your Servant now, Illya" Rin said. "Servants can enter an immaterial, spiritual state in order to conserve their Masters' mana and not take up space. …I think that last bit will be more important when it comes to _your_ Servant…"

Still a bit confused, Illya nodded and then looked up (and up, and up…) at Berserker, who gave a small nod and then shimmered and vanished; she could still sense him around her, in an immaterial state, ready to be called upon at a moment's notice.

"Wow. What the heck did we miss?"

At another new voice, the whole group turned to see three more faces that – to some – were familiar.

"Teana-san?" Illya greeted. "Sasuke-san, Fuuka-chan…"

" _More_ new people I didn't know about?" Archer remarked.

"I'm guessing you three are part of that organization Iris told me about" Kiritsugu asked.

"The DDF, yes" Sasuke replied. "Looks like things have snowballed in the… what, two hours we left you people alone?"

"…You look kinda familiar" Shirou said to Teana.

"You met my big brother once" the redhead replied. "Not too long ago. This is Sasuke, our cousin; his big brother Itachi is also out & about. And this little girl is Sasuke's new student, along with us for 'field experience'. So, it looks like everyone involved has a whole lot of explaining to do."

"Indeed…" Irisviel replied as she finally stopped hugging and fawning over a lightly-blushing Saber. "I never would've thought that two of my three children would become Masters in the restarted Grail Wars…"

"You know what this whole business is all about, mom?" Shirou asked.

"I do, Shirou. I know about the things Illya-chan has been doing, _and_ about the circumstances you and she have now been dragged into. Come inside, everyone; we've all got a lot to talk about…"

- _Break_ -

The Einzbern/Emiya family kitchen was now rather crowded; Sasuke, Teana, Fuuka, Irisviel, Kiritsugu, Shirou, Illya, Kuro, Miyu, Rin, Luvia, Sella, Leysritt, Archer, Saber… Thankfully Berserker was still in immaterial form, content to rest since his Master did not need his protection for the moment. Iris, Kiritsugu, Illya, Kuro, and Shirou were seated at the table, with everyone else standing around and behind.

Kiritsugu and Irisviel gave an explanation behind the concept and workings of the Holy Grail War, mostly for Shirou's benefit. This in turn led to covering the events before and during the Fourth War, with Kiritsugu doing most of the talking with occasional input from Iris and Saber.

"Not long after the War began, I… had a long talk with Iri. And that night, after a lot of soul-searching, I came to a life-changing decision: that to me, my wife and child were more important than some… unattainable 'world peace' pipe dream. So we accepted that woman's help, and got my family out of that mess. That woman used her Keyblade to break Iri's connection to the Grail that would have slowly killed her otherwise, and we got baby Illya, Sella, and Leysritt out of the Einzbern's hands and over here to Fuyuki. Then, since they are already talking about trying to make Illya into a new 'vessel', Iri and I… _disposed of_ the rest of the Einzbern clan, so that they couldn't try to harm or threaten my family ever again.

"Of course, the war was already in motion, so we worked to see it through, if only to minimize collateral damage the best we could…"

He and Saber then proceeded to tell what they knew of the progression of the war, which was helped by a few 'spy' Familiars that "MKL" ("Mysterious Keyblade Lady" Irisviel had said with a grin) had sent out to observe events they weren't present for. They told of the other Servants of the war – the Assassins ' _Hassan-i-Sabbah_ ', the Rider 'Iskander', the Lancer 'Diarmuid Ua Duibhne', the depraved Caster 'Gilles de Rais' and his equally-depraved Master, the Berserker that, out of courtesy to Saber's desire not to dig up the past, Kiritsugu merely referred to as 'the Black Knight', and… the oldest, most powerful, most dangerous Servant of them all: the Archer 'Gilgamesh' – a wicked, arrogant, greedy man who desired to ruthlessly conquer the world, and destroy it if he couldn't do that, who saw everything on Earth as his 'property', including Saber.

"A lot of things happened," Kiritsugu continued, "but it all came down to a head when I fought that man: Kotomine Kirei…"

"Huh?" Rin perked up. "What does that old 'false priest' have to do with all this?"

Kiritsugu looked at her with a curious expression. "How do you know of him, Tohsaka? You never met him."

"What are you talking about? He runs that old church up in the hills. He's been my legal guardian since my parents died."

At this, Kiritsugu shot to his feet. "He's _alive_?-! That's impossible! I _killed_ him that night 10 years ago!"

"N-No, he's alive and well. In fact, he's the overseer for the Fifth War. Why would you kill him?"

The man flopped back down into his seat, hand to his forehead. "Damn it all… He still lives… Tohsaka, you need to break all contact with him _immediately_. He… From what I remember, he was born with the inability to find joy except in witnessing or causing the suffering of others. Considering he was also born with a functioning moral compass, this caused him no small amount of turmoil. But he fought against his darker nature… until Gilgamesh convinced him to stop, got him to embrace his inner Darkness. He sought to complete the corrupted Grail solely to unleash the devastation on the world, so he could witness the despair and terror it would bring. Your father failed to see it, and gave him the Azoth Dagger – the same weapon you carry on your belt, I've noticed – as a token of friendship and trust. …Immediately, Kotomine used the blade to _murder_ your father, and steal Gilgamesh from him."

Rin looked like she's been punched in the gut by that revelation, going pale with shocked horror in her eyes. "H-He… H-He gave it to me, s-said my dad wanted me to have it…"

"Likely because he takes perverse joy in the sick irony of that lie. He is a monster, Rin. He didn't start out as one, but he has long since embraced the darkness of his soul. If he's involved in the Fifth War in any way, this whole mess just got a little more complicated."

"What happened next, dad?" Shirou asked, his tone somber as he read the mood.

"Our Keyblade-bearing traveler had informed us that the Grail was thoroughly corrupted. When it started to manifest – I'm still not sure how – I had Saber try to destroy it. …Instead, it unleashed a flood of black 'mud', the manifestation of All The World's Evils. It covered Kiritsugu and Gilgamesh, consuming them – or so I'd thought – and starting a massive fire. The only survivor I found from that darkness-fueled blaze… was Shirou."

"M-Me? …It was the Grail that caused the fire…?"

Kiritsugu nodded. "You were barely alive. To save you, I had to take Avalon and seal it into you."

Saber looked surprised at that. "…Avalon is _inside_ Shirou?"

"What's Avalon?" Teana asked.

"The sheathe of Saber's sword, one of her Noble Phantasms. It grants its bearer a very potent healing factor. It was the only thing I had strong enough to save Shirou's life. I've been… trying to safely extract it from him, but his body has come to recognize it as part of his own mana; removing it won't hurt him, other than slowing down his healing factor, but it will be very difficult – _too_ difficult for me, it seems.

"Leaving that aside, in the aftermath, our Keyblade-wielding friend healed me of the curse that the Grail's corruption spitefully placed on me when I tried to destroy it, and then Iri & I traveled to the leyline point that the Greater Grail was meant to manifest at, and sabotaged it so that the Grail Wars couldn't happen again… at least, until this 'Xehanort' person's underlings fixed it. And now we're back to where we started. I can't believe my children have gotten involved…"

"I really do feel like I'm in over my head…" Shirou admitted. "But… We're good people, but that doesn't mean all the other Masters will be. We should work to stop them if they try to hurt people. And if this 'Kotomine' person is as bad as father says he is, we'll also need to be on the lookout for him to try anything. I still don't understand this 'Grail War' thing 100%, but as long as we're stuck with it we should try and use it to help."

Saber gave her young Master a look, now a little more impressed with him. Archer, meanwhile, scoffed.

"It's a shame we don't know Lancer is" Rin said. "If you know a Servant's true identity, you might know some of their weaknesses."

"We might know, actually" Miyu finally spoke up. "Kiritsugu-san, Shirou-san, Servants… Allow us to tell you about the foes _we_ have had to deal with: the Class Cards."

The explanation given by Miyu, Rin & Luvia, and Ruby & Sapphire drew quite the reactions. Hearing how Rin & Luvia's constant squabbling led to Illya and Miyu getting drawn into a world of magic and danger got the two teen girls quite the glare from Kiritsugu, Shirou, Saber, and Archer; the idea of magic Cards that could channel the powers of Heroic Spirits and enable their wielders to wield those Spirits' weapons & abilities left the three Servants (Berserker didn't/couldn't really care) dumbfounded; and…

"So Kuro's not a 'long-lost cousin' we took in" Shirou surmised. "She's a magically created, altered clone of Illya, based on the information and memories of Illya's 'original purpose' she was born with but then mom sealed away?"

"That's correct" Luvia replied.

"…So I really do have _two_ precious little sisters to look after."

At knowing he accepted her, Kuro visibly relaxed, a warm smile on her face.

"Though, I think we may need to talk about that outfit you wear into battle…" the youth continued.

Now Kuro blushed slightly. "It's not like I can help it!" she replied. "That's just how it appears whenever I form it!"

"So the Archer card is at the core of her being?" Archer asked.

"Yes" Rin replied. "It's in immaterial form within her heart. It _could_ be removed… but that would require tearing Kuro's heart out of her chest."

Those being brought into the loop looked horrified at the mere idea; Shirou, Kiritsugu, and Saber each laid a comforting/protective hand on the girl.

"So," Kiritsugu looked to Miyu, "how do these Class Cards relate to knowing who the Servants are?"

"We never got to see the Lancer or Archer Card Spirits before Bazett defeated them, but the Berserker and Saber Card-Spirits basically looked just like corrupted versions of 'our' Saber and Berserker. So we can assume that, for whatever reason, the other five cards will also coincide with this Fifth War's Servants. Since 'Including' a Class Card grants the user that Servant's weapon…"

"We don't presently have the Lancer, Saber, or Rider cards" Kuro said. "Bazett has them. …Where is she, anyway?"

"She's presently living under a bridge a few kilometers from here" Luvia said with a slightly smug tone. "Her assets were seized to pay for the reconstruction of my mansion. Serves her right… I encountered her this morning; she said she was planning to summon a Servant tomorrow to take part in the War, but if what Archer said is true she's too late, as I am."

"Anyway," Miyu continued, "when I used the Lancer card, I got to wield the same spear that the 'real' Lancer who fled shortly before we arrived used… albeit scaled down for my smaller size. Using the Card gave me its knowledge. The spear and its ultimate attack are named 'G _á_ e Bolg'."

"I know that name" Saber said. "That's the spear of 'Ireland's Child of Light', the hero of Irish myth, Cú Chulainn. So he's the Fifth War's Lancer…"

"Any others?"

"The Caster Include has a weapon called 'Rule Breaker'; that doesn't really tell us anything. Berserker has something called 'God Hand'-"

"Herakles" Irisviel interrupted. "I remember from the Einzbern Clan archives of potential Servants. The Fifth War's Berserker, Illya-chan's Servant, must be Herakles, also known as 'Hercules'. He's one of the most powerful of all Servants, though being summoned as a Berserker-class actually limits him; despite his incredible raw power he does not have the sharp mind and well-honed skill he would have as a sane, other Class of Servant."

"Others?" Leysritt asked Miyu.

"Rider had 'Bellerophon', a Pegasus with a power level on par with a dragon, as well as eyes that could petrify anything the gaze would focus on."

"Petrifying gaze and Pegasus… Medusa" Kiritsugu deduced.

"The Assassin Card calls upon the strength of the _Hashashin_ Legion, of _Hassan-i-Sabah_. And… I remember hearing the Dark Saber call out her ultimate attack: Excalibur."

"Excaliber?" Shirou asked. "But, that's the sword of…" he looked over at Saber, who now had her eyes downcast.

"Yes" Kiritsugu replied. "The figure known to myth as 'King Arthur'…" he gestured to Saber "would be more accurately known as 'Queen Artoria'."

"I no longer deserve that title…" the petite blonde girl said in a low, depressed and bitter tone. "I never did… After what happened to me in life, what I learned about myself in the Fourth War… my wish for the Grail is to rewrite and undo my past, make it so that I was never 'king', that someone more worthy than I had been in that position instead…"

Irisviel sighed. "From what we can tell, she and Iskander… talked. He 'helped' her face some rather unpleasant truths about herself. …Knowing that man, he probably had plans to help her come to terms with herself and remake her life into something better, a healthier self-image, but Gilgamesh killed him before he could…"

"As for the Archer Card…" Kuro changed the subject. "Well, even though it's literally part of me I barely know anything about it. What's your objective, Mr. Mystery?"

Realizing that he probably wouldn't be able to get away with lying (especially to Iris & Kiritsugu), despite his wishes, Archer sighed and decided to bite the bullet and get it over with.

"I am… different from normal Servants" he said. "Rather than the past, I come from the future."

"That's exceedingly rare…" Irisviel said, "…but not unheard of. In Grail Wars past, there have been two other Servants summoned from the 'future'."

"My life ended in pain and loss," the man continued, "and my afterlife wasn't any better. My ultimate objective is…" He pointed across the table, right at Shirou "…to kill my past self, and thus induce a time paradox that will undo my wretched existence."

At this revelation, most of the room's occupants gasped, while Saber and Leysritt took up defensive positions closer to Shirou, who was shocked speechless.

"You're… another Shirou…?" Rin asked, still stunned.

The man called 'Archer' nodded. "The white hair and darkened skin are the result of overusing Projection magic. The height is because 'your' Shirou is not yet done growing, and the musculature… well, I work out."

"It won't work."

For the first time since the 'meeting' began, Sasuke spoke, grabbing Archer's attention.

"It won't work" the Uchiha repeated. "If you kill this Shirou, it won't erase you. It will create a 'branch' timeline that 'buds off' from the main one and runs parallel to it. The Z-Group, part of our Dimensional Defense Force, has personal experience with that matter; they had a member from a parallel timeline who traveled back to try and stop the calamity that befell his world, but all it did was create a new, separate timeline where that catastrophe was averted… while his own world, parallel to the new one, continued in its ruined state. If you kill this Shirou, you will still exist, and you will have killed him for no reason."

He called up his Omnitool, displaying a mass of complicated temporal data that Archer looked over. As the Servant read through the data, his posture sank, and then he let his forehead fall to the table with a dull thump.

"Damn it all…" he murmured. "Seeing how different things are already, with Illya and father being alive & well, and these 'Card' things, I should have figured…"

"Why would you want to erase yourself from the timeline?" Luvia asked.

"My life was one of loss and battle. At first I wanted to 'save the world', the dream that father passed on to me at the time of his death, but… In the end, I didn't dream of a world without conflicts; I just wanted people in my view not to cry. I saved my timeline's Illya from the Grail War, but due to her connection to the Grail she only lived another year. She was the first friend to die, but far, _far_ from the last. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't save one person without harming another. But still I kept on… until I made a deal with Gaia to save some people precious to me, and in return one of those people betrayed me, and had me executed. And because of my deal with the World, I became… something truly vile…"

"You're…" Kiritsugu spoke up, his tone solemn "a Counter Guardian, aren't you, Shirou?"

'Archer' nodded, and Irisviel, Stella, & Rin showed a barely-contained mixture of horror and pity.

"A… what?" Fuuka asked.

"A Counter Guardian" Kiritsugu repeated. "Protectors of Balance, 'Beasts of Alaya'… Spirits bound to Gaia, sent in response to calamitous events that threaten humanity as a whole or the world itself… But they only arrive either after the damage is done, explicitly sent only to kill those responsible, or just before the catastrophe to halt it by any means necessary… regardless of collateral damage. Counter Guardians have been forced by the Will of Gaia to slaughter women and children if it's for 'the Greater Good', to prevent an even worse loss of life. When they are 'on the job', they have no free will, simply killing at the World's command. Kill 10 innocents to save 100, kill a thousand to save 10,000, kill 10 million to save a billion… They've been described as Earth's 'garbagemen', brutally taking out the 'trash' of humanity, and cleaning up the messes after they've been made. For someone who desires only to see people happy… it is a fate worse than death."

"I just didn't want to see people cry…" Archer murmured, his tone dull and broken. "Instead, all I see is suffering, crying people forever… That is where my 'ideals' have led me."

Illya & Miyu were quietly crying, with the rest of the group not far from that point. Even Kaleid Ruby & Sapphire were respectfully silent. Another Shirou Emiya, someone who'd once been just like the boy who was such a part of their lives, had been through such a horrible, endless Hell like that…

"A… Archer…" Rin murmured, trying and failing to think of something to say.

"It's too late for me. All I can do now is help see this Grail War through to the end, and then return to Gaia for my next… 'mission'…"

Taking a deep, slow breath, he then turned to the Uchihas and Fuuka. "So… What about you people? You haven't said much yet. Going to inform us where _you_ come from, who you represent?"

So, Teana and Sasuke gave a somewhat-abridged explanation about the Dimensional Defense Force – their structure, their goals, their enemies… Fuuka was also convinced to tell her story, earning some sympathy.

"Any special properties in that sword?" Archer asked Sasuke.

"It's nothing special; haven't even thought of a name for it. It's just a well-made _chokutō_ …"

He withdrew the weapon from its scabbard, handing it over to Archer to have a look. Immediately Archer used his ability to 'scan' the weapon's properties and history.

"It's designed to easily channel the user's… mana? No, their _ki_ …"

"I have a Lightning affinity. By channeling my Lightning chakra through the blade, when I cut someone with it their muscles and nerves in the immediate area are effected, paralyzing and numbing them; depending on where the wound is dealt, it can cripple an opponent's ability to fight effectively… well, until the effect wears off, at least. Fuuka's sword has the same properties. Everyone has at least one Elemental Conversion Affinity, and about a third of people have two affinities; I have Lightning and Fire. But Fuuka is among the less than 10% of people who have _three_ affinities – Fire, Lighting, and Wind in her case. Teana's squadmate, Kaede Fuyō, is another."

Nodding, Archer handed Sasuke his sword back, and then spoke again. "I can read a weapon's accumulated experiences. How in the world did this sword end up drawing _your_ blood?"

Sasuke looked embarrassed, averting his gaze. "An opponent considerably stronger than me and with abilities I wasn't prepared for immobilized me, took my dropped sword, and stabbed me through the chest with it. It's a long story."

Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn by a tapping sound on the kitchen window. They all looked, and saw a bird that no-one could quite identify. What's more, it had a faint magical aura to it.

"A Familiar?" Irisviel said.

"Looks like it has something tied to its leg" Teana pointed out.

Leysritt let it in, and then bird flew in and set down in the center of the table. It held out its left foot, which looked like it had a piece of paper rolled up and tied to it. Carefully Saber took the note, and the bird then bowed its head and took off, flying out through the open window. When Saber began to unfold the paper, she gasped as it 'sprang' out of her hand, rapidly unfolding by magic and laying itself out on the table. Irisviel leaned in to read it.

"…It's from the Servant Caster" she said, with a hint of surprise. "She's at the Ryuudou Temple, and she wants all of us to come there tomorrow to… discuss a mutual non-aggression pact. 'My Master and I wish to avoid bloodshed and hostility between our two parties'…"

"…Well," Shirou was the first to speak up, "I guess we're going on a field trip to the temple tomorrow."

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Coming Next: an alliance, a new ability, and – either in the next chapter or the one after – the first clash of Masters of the Fifth War…


	4. Parlay

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **Next Day**

An odd group slowly made their way up the steps to Ryuudou Temple; Illya, Miyu, Kuro, Rin, Luvia, Shirou, Archer, Berserker (still in Spirit Form), Saber, Teana, Tiida, Sasuke, Fuuka, and Shino all made their way up the slope, eyes & ears open. The rest of the DDF team had met with the 'home team' this morning to introduce themselves and discuss their options, and they had all decided that the chance of an alliance with Caster was something they couldn't pass up. And if it didn't work out, or turned out to be a trap, they could just have Teana, Saber, Tiida, & Sasuke blast the enemy into submission.

As they finally reached the top, a lone figure stood between them and the entrance gate. It was a man, about 176cm (around 5'9") tall, with long indigo hair tied in a high ponytail. He was clad in a traditional light-purple hakama and kimono beneath a purple _haori_ , and slung across his back in its sheath was a (proportionately) _very_ long sword.

"Greetings" the man said. "So you're the group that Master sent for?"

"Master? You're a Servant?" Luvia asked.

The man nodded. "Servant Assassin, Sasaki Koujirou, summoned by Servant Caster."

"A Servant summoned a Servant?" Rin asked, nonplussed.

"She's very good at manipulating magic to do almost anything she wants it to. Though, my nature as the Servant of a Servant limits my abilities and where I can go; mostly, I guard this gate. In any case, I have been instructed to let you pass, and to escort you to Mistress and her Master. Follow me, please. …I see some of you are swordsman. Perhaps we can have a spar or two later? I'd love to test my skills against you in a fair duel."

"Sure" Sasuke replied. "Once we know you and your Masters can be trusted."

"Hmph. Fair enough."

He led them into the temple, which was mostly empty at the moment, and then into one of the 'side' buildings. There, in the main room, a woman waited for them, her body and face obscured by the voluminous hooded robe she wore.

"Hello~" she waved, a smile visible on the exposed lower half of her face. "I take it you're all willing to discuss my proposal?"

"You're Caster?" Teana asked.

The woman nodded, reaching up to pull her hood down, revealing a slender, beautiful face with long light-blue hair and pointed elven ears. "Medea, Caster of the Fifth War. Pleased to meet you."

As she stepped closer, she laid eyes on Saber, and let out a little gasp. "My gosh, you're _gorgeous_! Those piercing blue eyes, that shining golden hair, how regal you look in that armored dress… Oh, and _you_!" She looked at Teana. "Your hair, your figure… You're so lovely! Oh, you two would look so good in some of the dresses I've had in mind…"

The two 'warrior women' were both caught off-guard and slightly blushing at this wholly unexpected type of attention and compliments.

"And my goodness, you four are so adorable~" she squeed at Illya, Miyu, Kuro, and Fuuka. "I didn't expect such huggably cute little girls to be involved in all this. Oh, I wonder what sort of adorable outfits you would look best in…"

"Um…" Archer spoke up.

"Oh… I'm terribly sorry; I just got caught up in… A-Anyway, please come in, have a seat. Master will be along soon; he's just taking care of a couple things."

Everyone gathered round a large central table that Caster had conjured for the meeting (she even made sure to make comfy cushions for the chairs).

"So…" Tiida started. "You want an alliance, or at least a long-term truce…"

Caster nodded. "My first Master, the one who summoned me, planned to sacrifice several captured children to empower me. I killed him and set them free, and then went looking for a new Master. Right when I was almost out of mana, about to fade away, I came here, and…" she let out a dreamy sigh " _he_ found me… He is the first man to ever show me true kindness and care. He has a cold exterior, and is a little lost in some aspects in life due to an… unpleasant past, but has treated me so wonderfully. It didn't take long at all for me to fall in love with him, and though it's difficult for him to show it, we recently performed a mind-link spell that confirmed he returns my feelings. Just as he saved my life, I've given him a reason to live…

"Unfortunately, Master doesn't have very much mana to supply me with. However, I've set up an array across the entire city that draws in natural energy and planetary mana and funnels it to me, in order to sustain me. Though, this leaves me fairly weak compared to my full potential. I _could_ be stronger if I were to drain life-force and mana from people, but I'd rather not stoop to that low if I can avoid it… and, to be honest, I was able to sense the power levels of some of you people and knew that if I did anything like that, you'd come down on me like a sledgehammer from the gods. Though recently, we discovered that there is another, more… direct way for a Master to supply their Servant with mana…"

"What would that be?" Sasuke asked.

Medea grinned. "Sex. It can supply a Servant with a _significant_ amount of mana."

The four younger girls went bright red, with most of the rest of the group showing lesser but still noticeable embarrassment at the idea and at Caster's brazen admission to "getting some".

"Anyway," she continued, "I don't want any trouble. I just want to spend as much time as I can with my beloved. Now, we of course can't be sure that everyone else will be as reasonable, so I propose we help each other. You people don't attack us, we don't cause trouble for you. If you can find a way to give me more mana to work with, I can also provide my magical expertise in any way it could help. For instance, I'll give you a freebie: somebody is setting up a large-scale rune around Homurahara Academy. From what I've discerned, the rune's effects will be quite harmful for anyone inside. I don't know who, or why, but I'd venture it's the work of a Servant or Master… or perhaps it's from one of these mysterious 'other' enemies you people have made."

"A large-scale rune at school?" Rin asked. "Since when?"

"My scout Familiars first detected it a few days ago; it's still under construction. It looks like it's going to be a life-force drainer, but on a more intensely focused scale than what I might have done; rather than slowly leeching energy from people, it would suck their bodies dry of life energy near-instantly, harvesting a massive amount of energy in a manner of minutes by killing everyone in the area-of-effect."

That got everyone's attention, and not in a good way. "…We need to scan the school," Kuro said, "find the rune's convergence points and wreck them. And then track down whatever asshole's planning to drain our school and bash their head in!"

"Easy, little sis" Archer told her. "We can't move _too_ soon; we have to wait until we have a target to go after. Maybe we can sabotage the rune more subtly, so that our enemy doesn't know it's been broken. When they come out of hiding to either activate it or find out why it won't activate, _then_ we hit 'em."

"I think we can help each other" Teana said to Caster. "Also, there are these dark creatures called Heartless and Unversed skulking around. Perhaps we could place a 'lure' to bring some lower-leveled ones here, you use a few Light spells to blast them, and then maybe you could find a way to extract and purify their mana and add it to yours?"

"I know of the Heartless," Caster replied, "and I do think I can make up a secondary rune over the area that would separate their Darkness and their magical energy, dispose of the former and let me gather the latter. Though, in my current state, if anyone bigger than basic 'foot-soldier' units showed up, we'd probably need help with them."

"That's where we could come in" Shirou replied.

For the next while, they discussed various other ideas and proposals, also getting to know each other a little better; Assassin joined in the conversation at points, offering his own input where he thought it could help. Eventually, the door opened again. When Medea turned to look, her eyes lit up and a big smile formed on her face.

"Honey~!"

As she practically leapt over to him, letting him sweep her up into a spinning hug and a sweet kiss, Shirou, Rin, and Luvia's jaws dropped.

"K… Kuzuki-sensei…" Shirou murmured.

"Hm?" the man looked at some of their 'gests'. "Emiya, Tohsaka, Edelfelt… So you three are involved in the world of magic…"

" _Onii-chan_ is Saber's Master," Kuro spoke up, "Rin is Archer's, Illya is Berserker's…"

"And I was… too late" Luvia admitted sheepishly. "I meant to summon a Servant today, but last night the last two were summoned."

"Hmmm…" Assassin Koujirou looked thoughtful, turning his gaze to the blonde. He then looked to Caster and Kuzuki.

"…Oh, why not?" Medea said. "With these people here, having this place be guarded will be easier. Miss Edelfelt, I believe my Servant has a proposition…"

- _Break_ -

The ritual-spell went off without a hitch. The Assassin known as Sasaki Koujirou felt new power flowing through him as his Contract with Luvia was completed, the rich girl eyeing the Command Seal that now showed on her right forearm. After seeing magic scrying-footage of her in action, he was impressed; while not on the level of a Servant, she had impressive magical power and skill. She seemed to excel at ranged attacks, a fine compliment for his close-range style.

Afterwards, Rin had shown Caster the Class Cards, to see if she could make anything of them. Though very intrigued by them (especially the card that represented _her_ , complete with Rule Breaker), she couldn't quite figure out where they may have come from. Strangely, she said it almost felt like someone had used Displacement Magic – a magecraft usually deemed weak, inflexible, and tactically worthless – and taken it to new heights in order to somehow access the Throne of Heroes to empower the Cards…

Medea was also curious about Illya & Kuro's connection to the Greater Grail, especially when also taking into account the unique nature of Kuro's existence. The dark-skinned girl allowed Caster to (magically, non-invasively) examine her.

"Normally, this Card's power would 'only' let you copy a weapon and its accumulated experiences" the arch-mage said. "Like what the 'prime' Archer can do. But you, little sweetie… I think your unique nature might grant you an advanced form of that ability. I can't tell you what it is, not yet, but it seems like you have a sleeping power just waiting for the right stimulus to awaken it…"

"Do you think you could help me with that?" Kuro asked.

"Mmm, perhaps I could give it a little 'nudge' to make it easier to awaken… if you could, say, model a few outfits for me~. You and the other girls are just so heart-warmingly adorable, I'd like a few pictures for posterity. Now, if I could just convince Saber and that beautiful buxom redhead to let me dress them up a little, too…"

Kuro couldn't help but wonder how in the world Medea had developed the habit/desire of dressing girls & women up in cute or 'regally alluring' (depending on their age) outfits…

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Sasuke and Assassin stood facing one another. Sasuke looked over to his older cousin, and Tiida pulled his Device out and called up his magic. A few seconds later, a transparent expanding dome or 'bubble' shimmered out, expanding to cover an area 15 meters across with the two swordsmen in the center.

"This energy field was developed by the TSAB for use in training, spars, and tournament fights" Sasuke explained to Koujirou. "Normally field agents don't have it available to them, but Tiida- _niisan_ requisitioned it, anticipating that some of the allies we'd make on this world might want to spar or get some heavy-duty training. It converts all forms of damage or harm into harmless 'magical damage'; even a 'mana construct' type of entity like a Familiar or a Servant won't actually get hurt, not even from what would be a lethal blow. This will let you and me fight with our full skill. But before we start…"

He waved Fuuka over, the young girl showing a little surprise as she came closer.

"Sasaki-san, if you could please only defend, let's see if my young student can land a blow on you. Fuuka, let's see how well you do. Don't be dejected if you can't get past his guard; even with the bits of temporal-displaced training we've mixed into 'normal' time you still only have about a month's worth of my training under your belt. You're free to use both sword and unarmed strikes, but no _ninjutsu_ or long-range magic. You have five minutes to land at least a single unguarded hit on Assassin. …Go."

With a burst of speed, the young brunette dashed forward while drawing and swinging her blade in a lightning-quick _iaijutsu_ opening strike, and Assassin quickly brought his rather long sword to bear and blocked her attack, the loud sound of clanging metal ringing out; Koujirou was impressed by the degree of magically-enhanced strength and speed the little girl already had. Fuuka followed with a rapid barrage of strikes at different angles, but Assassin moved his blade just as quickly to block or parry her blows. She began making other strikes as well, occasional kicks or punches of magic-infused strength, forcing Assassin to work a little harder to avoid or block every attack. Though, the older warrior's greater experience was plain to see, as he successfully dodged, parried, or blocked every one of Fuuka's attacks. To her credit, it wasn't effortless for him to do so.

After about three minutes, Fuuka finally prevailed. A combo of strikes was ended with one noticeably stronger than what had preceded it, catching Koujirou off-guard and knocking his sword back for just a moment. In that instant, Fuuka jabbed him in the gut with the pommel of her sword, and then while he reeled from that she struck with a palm-thrust to the chest that actually knocked him skidding back about a meter.

"And you've only been doing this for about a month?" he asked. "Impressive, little one. It seems Uchiha-san has indeed found a promising student. Now, however, I would like to test your master's skill."

As Fuuka nodded and stepped back, Sasuke moving in to take her place, Teana came up beside her.

"Nice work, kiddo" the redhead petted Fuuka on the head, making the girl grumble softly and blush but at the same time gave her a slight warm feeling inside. "So… You have Lightning, Fire, _and_ Wind as affinities, right? Sasuke-kun can't help you with that last bit… but _I_ could. Wanna learn a couple new tricks, Fuu-chan?"

"You'd do that for me?" the girl asked.

"Sure! From how I've seen you two interact, Sasuke's developed a kind of big-brotherly attachment to you already, and since he & I and our big brothers treat each other like siblings despite being cousins, I guess that makes me your new big sister figure… unless you don't want it to be like that?"

Feeling a bit touched, Fuuka shook her head. "No, I'm totally cool with that… _née-chan_ …"

Teana giggled softly and petted Fuuka on the head again, and the young girl scooted closer to her, her lonely upbringing leading her to crave that gentle affectionate contact.

There was the sound of clashing blades as Sasuke and Assassin's duel began. The two swordsmen were immediately moving with stunning speed and striking with great power, exchanging blows at a very quick rate. It was immediately clear to Koujirou that Sasuke had much more skill than his student, his movements smoother and more refined, his strikes faster and harder, among other little differences that – to a veteran swordsman like Koujirou – meant everything. To the observers, both combatants were a whirling storm of deadly motion, sparks flying as steel struck steel.

For several minutes the duel went on, Sasuke and Assassin managing to land a few blows on each other but mostly blocking or parrying each other's attacks with fluid skill. Finally, they briefly broke off, staring each other down.

"Fantastic…" Koujirou said with a grin. "You are truly gifted, young Uchiha. Indeed, I think you are worthy of facing my ultimate technique…"

Sasuke smirked. "And what might that be?"

In response, Assassin took a stance not previously seen, as _power_ flowed through his body and blade. Then…

" _Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi_!"

In the instant before Assassin moved, Sasuke's eyes widened as an instinctual feeling of overwhelming danger assailed him, and he reflexively brought up a Stage-0 _Susanō_ ribcage around himself. Despite the fact that Koujirou very clearly only made a single swing of his sword, _three_ simultaneous slashing cuts dug deep into the solid-chakra ribs that surrounded Sasuke. Even with his Sharingan watching the swordsman's every move, he could hardly believe what he'd just witnessed. On the sidelines, the spectators were similarly amazed.

"W-What… was that…?" Saber asked, stunned and trying not to let her jaw drop.

"No way…" Tiida murmured, Sharingan active. "That wasn't three moves fast enough to look like one. This guy… That attack of his triggers a _dimensional refraction_ – it actually warps reality, taps into the high-ancient magic that harnesses parallel existences to 'create' three attacks, each from a different angle, from one strike! In the TSAB's entire history _and_ that of the Belkan Wars, billions of people over hundreds of years, only four people – _four_ – have ever managed to weaponize dimensional refraction like that… Just who _is_ this man?"

Koujirou, meanwhile, was also a bit stunned. "You actually have a defense capable of successfully blocking my _Tsubame Gaeshi_ … I concede. If nothing else, your defense is not surmountable by me… and I feel that were you to utilize your _full_ power, other than simply your blade skills and unarmed techniques, I would not last long. Well fought, Uchiha-kun. I look forward to working with you… and perhaps I can aid in your little student's training as well?"

Sasuke nodded, giving the man a respectful bow, which Koujirou returned.

Meanwhile, back in the residence building, Caster let out a little cuteness-struck giggle, practically floating around Kuro, occasionally taking pictures and having the little girl pose for her. The girl in question was clad in a rather poofy and frilly dress, mostly dark red but with some bits of black or pink, in a style that could best be called a seamless blend of 'gothic-lolita' and 'fairy princess'. She also wore matching frilly pink socks and plain black 'mary-jane' shoes, and her pinkish-lavender hair was held in pigtails by frilly red ribbons with pink lace. Kuro had a rather deep blush on her face, mildly mortified at being in such an outrageously girly, cutesy getup.

'Am I really sure a new power is worth _this_?' she thought as a grinning Medea held up the camera and had her strike another pose.

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

Later that day, the DDF people were setting up a small 'lure' that was meant to be just barely perceptible over the city's "background", to draw in occasional batches of low-level Heartless and Unversed for Caster to destroy and harvest mana from. They activated it… and it worked a little 'better' than they had anticipated or desired.

Now, they were fighting off a "moderately large" Heartless incursion. Thankfully, with so many heavy hitters on-site, it wasn't that difficult to manage. As she stared down a pack of Soldiers and Scrappers almost two-dozen strong, Kuro decided to mix things up a little. The 'archival footage' had been configured in a way that she was able to 'see' the various weapons with her "Archer-vision". Thus, she was able to Trace some of them, as shown right now as she summoned 'copies' of the late Asuma Sarutobi's trench-knives. Since she also Traced the weapons' accumulated experiences and their original owner's skills with them, as she leapt into the enemy's ranks she began stabbing and cutting through them easily with the weapons as if she'd been using them for years.

A sizable flock of Blue Rhapsodies made itself known, launching a barrage of Blizzard spells at the girl. As she saw them coming, Kuro suddenly felt new knowledge flow into her head, feeling her chakra surge to life within her. Guided by the urge and the knowledge, her hands moved in a rapid series of seals, while she took a deep breath in, gathering and molding chakra in her lungs and mouth, and then…

' _Katon: Haisekishō_!'

She blew out a cloud of super-hot ash that engulfed the ice-type Heartless, and then she struck the trench-knives against each other to make a spark, causing the whole cloud to combust explosively, destroying every Heartless inside and a couple too close to the edge of the cloud. The blast drew the attention of the others fighting, allowing them to see Kuro staring in shock at her own hands and the weapons held in them.

"I… I feel it… Within me… This new power awakened… I don't just copy weapons and their experiences & skills anymore… I can copy techniques used by the weapons' original wielders, even ones not connected to those weapons!"

A new, larger pack of Soldiers and Scrappers emerged from the treeline, sizing up the young 'Faker'. Dispelling her current weapons, Kuro focused for a few seconds, and with wavering red light she Traced a familiar white & gold hilt with an orange energy blade: a Mirage Longsword, though with the central core's light dimmed to show it did not hold the original A.I. in it. Now with a confident grin on her face, she drew on the knowledge connected to the weapon, and a swarm of red-orange mana bolts formed around her.

"Crossfire Shot!"

With a wave of her arm, she sent the bolts flying toward the incoming darklings, ripping through nearly half of them. She leapt in, wielding the energy blade to cut through the rest, occasionally firing off more Crossfire bolts and even a couple of _Fūton: Shinkūha_ that sliced through their targets. With only a dozen of them left, she dispelled her Traced weapon and called in a new one: a 'Fake' of Sasuke's _chokutō_. Her free hand was quickly shrouded in Lightning-type chakra, and she swept it out to release a wave of _Chidori Senbon_ that pierced into the remaining Heartless, destroying a few and stunning the rest, leaving them helpless as she leapt high and 'Traced' _Katon: Gōkakyū_ , incinerating the last hostiles.

"This is awesome!" she shouted. "I've got a whole new world of options available to me now!"

The dust settled, as elsewhere in the courtyard the other groups mopped up their own enemies; the last to fall was a Large Body that Berserker used the broad side of his sword to whack over the head with deadly force, almost squishing the rotund Heartless flat. Illya dispelled her massive Servant back into spiritual form once she confirmed there were no more enemies, and everyone regrouped.

"Okay," Riku said, "I think we're going to need to adjust the lure's parameters, turn the settings down."

"Copying the techniques used by Traced weapons' original wielders…" Archer said as he came up to his 'little sister'. "So that's what happens if you mix my power with the Holy Grail's like that…"

"Isn't it _cool_?" Kuro exclaimed. "This is really gonna go places, I can tell! For now, though, I… think I need a mana recharge… Illya~? Could you come with me over this way for a moment~?"

Blushing, Illya followed her 'twin' over to behind the nearby building.

"Well," Caster said as she joined the group, "if I had any doubts before over you people's capabilities and power, I don't now. I really think we can make this alliance work."

Meanwhile, Shirou called for the attention of Saber, Archer, and the three present Uchihas.

"I don't like having other people have to defend and fight for me all the time" he told them. "So, I'm wondering if…" He shook his head. "Teach me. Train me. I want to be able to fight. Even if it's only enough to handle low-level enemies in small groups, I need to be able to do _something_. Please…"

The others looked to each other for a few seconds, silently deliberating. Finally, Archer sighed.

"Why not?" the red-clad Servant said. "At the very least, you seem to have more people to rein your 'ideals' in than I did in my timeline, make sure you don't do anything stupid with them. And this way, if… when you _do_ commit some foolish act of bravery, you won't be screwed if no-one is there to pull your ass out of the fire."

"While… not putting it as roughly as Archer," Saber added, "I concur that it is a good idea to teach you at least some basic abilities, Master. We'll come up with a training regimen as soon as we can."

"I'll help with that" Itachi said, startling those who hadn't sensed him arrive. "Should be interesting. From what I can sense, you _do_ have quite a bit of potential; you'll just need help to bring it out."

"Thank you all" Shirou bowed. "Hopefully I'll be able to learn some basics quickly. Who knows how or when our mystery enemy who set up the field around the school will make their move…"

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next Time: Action at the school, as the Fate-verse's Number-One Weenie and 'his' Servant make themselves known.


	5. Sakura

And again, I have to make rushed last-minute plans due to a failure: specifically, I forgot that Illya and Shirou not only do _not_ go to the same school, but their schools are so far apart that when Irisviel was standing on the roof of Shirou's school, she had to use a telescope to get a good view of Illya's. So my idea of "Illya's friends get caught in the crossfire, see her fighting, and find out about her being a magical girl" is a bust, at least for this chapter/battle.

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **Three Days Later**

Things had mostly gone quiet for a few days. Shirou's training had begun, and all things considered he was actually doing pretty well, a quick learner once the concepts of things were explained to him. Kuro was still delighted about her new ability… but not-so-delighted that Caster cheerfully gave copies of the taken pictures to Irisviel and Sella, who'd squeed at the unbearable adorableness of Kuro all 'dolled up', fawning over the girl to her embarrassment.

In addition to working on a 'project' with Illya, Teana helped Sasuke train Fuuka, starting to teach the girl some Wind Release techniques; at the same time, Assassin – comfortably settling in as Luvia's Servant – was also helping the little brunette with her swordsmanship. Riku was training Illya how to more skillfully and effective use her Keyblade, both in melee and in magic. Archer was as fatalistic as ever, but he actually seemed to be getting used to everyone in his own way, and helped out from time to time.

The bounded field around the school had been located, and Itachi, Miyu & Sapphire, Rin, Archer, and Kiritsugu had discreetly sabotaged key points in the field's magic matrix, ensuring the spell would 'fizzle' without tipping off whomever had set it up until it was too late. This proved to have been done just in time…

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

It was midday at the high school, the buildings full of students and faculty. Everything seemed quiet and calm. Then, however, the sensor runes that the DDF had placed detected magical energy being pushed into the secretly-sabotaged boundary field, trying to activate it. Immediately most of the DDF and 'Local' Group sprang into action, converging on the school to seek out and deal with the perpetrator.

Atop the roof of the school building, the perpetrator in question was not happy.

"What the hell is going _on_?-!" Shinji Matou snarled as he rounded on 'his' Servant. "Why isn't it working?-!"

After a few seconds of examining the area, the tall, purple-haired, blindfolded woman known as 'Rider' spoke. "You recall when you responded to my suggestion of monitoring the boundary field as 'unnecessary'? It appears that was a mistake on your part. At some point in the last few days, someone sabotaged the base runes that the spell relies on. It's either another Servant or someone well-versed in Sealing and Counter-Sealing magic. Or both. The spell is worthless now."

Rider expected (and hoped) for Shinji to rant and rave a bit and then give up. So it was concerning to her that, after a few seconds of fuming, he gained a wicked grin.

"The hell with it. Plan B. Grandfather gave me the power to summon these things; might as well use them!"

He channeled what pathetically little magical power he had and slammed his palms down to the ground, releasing a pulse of dark power. Then, the roof turned black as multiple shadowy portals formed. From them emerged a massive horde of Heartless, to Rider's open shock. Smirking, Shinji Matou took a step forward.

"Harvest the life-force of the people in this building and gather it for later use. I don't care what you do with their bodies or Hearts. Go."

The dark creatures obeyed, scattering, leaping down off the roof to climb along the walls, a few of them phasing through the floor. A straggler group, two Soldiers and three Shadows, prepared to move out as well, when suddenly a tiny gem loaded with specially-tuned mana was thrown in amongst them, detonating with the force of a fiery grenade. The five low-level Heartless were destroyed in an instant, and a single set of footsteps clacking across the roof broke Shinji's stunned silence.

"Shinji Matou…" the girl spoke. "I knew you were rotten, but _this_?"

"Tohsaka? How did you know I'd be up here?"

"I just followed the stink of your rotten little heart."

The youth snarled. "Rider, take her down."

Rin noticed as the purple-haired Servant gave her an apologetic look and then launched a chain-attached dagger at her… only for it to be batted away by an invisible force which then 'solidified' to reveal a tall, dark-skinned, white-haired man.

"Archer?" Rin said. "Think you can keep Rider busy? Without killing her; we might be able to get some useful intel out of her."

"Got it" the red-clad man replied, and with a burst of movement he dashed forward. Rider leapt away to get more room to maneuver, and Archer followed her, the two of them already starting to exchange attacks. Meanwhile, Rin just folded her arms and gave Shinji a smug grin, to which he growled.

"You may have my Servant occupied, but the Heartless I summoned are still ready to perform their task. All the students are gathered together in one building, ripe for the-"

The piercing bell of the school's fire alarm began to ring, and the students & faculty began a quick, well-rehearsed evacuation of the building.

Rin's smirk grew. "You were saying?"

- _Break_ -

The student body's initial assumption that someone must've pulled the alarm for laughs was quickly discarded as shadowy creatures appeared and started trying to attack people. Before panic could really take hold, however, several mysterious figures showed up and began cutting the monsters down, while hurrying the students & staff along and telling them to stay calm, things were "mostly" under control.

"In my experience," Riku said to one group, "nothing's ever fully 'in control' for long, but we've got a handle on things here."

Elsewhere, in a now-empty part of the school (the students & staff were heading to gather on the other side), Illya summoned her Keyblade. Sure enough, the weapon's energy signature acted as a beacon for the Heartless, such that a slight majority of them peeled off from their 'orders' and diverted to locate and engage her instead.

"Hey Illya," Kuro said, "lemme lend you my power. I wanna see your Valor Form in action!"

Illya accepted the power she felt flow into her, and a flash of light enveloped her. When it faded, her outfit had been transformed; the tips of her four-point cape were tinged red, same for the little wings of her hair-ties and on her boots, and the white parts of her pink & white outfit were now red. While she held Counterpoint in her right hand, in her left Kaleid Ruby had now taken the shape of a Keyblade.

"Oh _wow_ , this is cool" the AI-spirit exclaimed. "Illya-san, your long-rang magic capability is basically worthless in this mode, but your physical-enhancement magic has been cranked _way_ up! This is definitely a melee-oriented form. Let's tear 'em apart!"

As the first group of Heartless arrived, Illya charged in, moving faster than she could before. As she went on the attack, she struck with startling force, speed, and skill (taking some of Kuro's power had apparently also let her 'borrow' some of her twin's swordsmanship skill) to begin mowing the Heartless down. Miyu pitched in to help, but for the most part Illya was doing fine on her own for this.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Shinji Matou used what little magic he had been given to reinforce his body enough to slide down the outer wall and land on his feet, having left Rin fighting another small pack of Heartless long enough to try and slink away. He turned, and saw Shirou Emiya glaring at him.

"Emiya? Why aren't you with the others? …Whatever. You've always been a pain in my ass; this is perfect! Come on out, big guy!"

With a thud, a Dark Thorn landed behind Shinji, the large beating its chest and roaring as it glared at Shirou. The red-haired youth simple smirked.

"Saber?" he spoke.

Shinji went "Huh?", and then he heard a curious sound. He turned around to see the big bad Heartless topple over onto its face, a glowing slash across its back. Its slayer was a petite blonde woman in an armored blue dress, wielding a large and fancy-looking sword, and with a rather huge magical signature. At Shirou's nod, Saber then leapt away to help fight the other Heartless.

"Wait… _You're_ a Master, Emiya?-!"

"Yep. And I know one thing for sure" He cracked his knuckles. "I don't need my Servant's help to kick your ass."

Elsewhere, Berserker briefly paused after chopping three Air Soldiers in half with one swing to chance a look at his young Mistress. Even to him, it was obvious she needed no help at the moment, her transformation letting her butcher the offending darklings with ease. A Large Body abruptly leapt onto Berserker's back, its arms wrapped around his neck, trying to drag him down or strangle him, so he fell backward and let his body weight slam the thing into the ground. While it was dazed, he delivered a killing downward punch that pulped its head and cracked the pavement beneath.

Hinata took advantage of a pack of Soldiers' over-eagerness as they leapt at her from all sides, using _Kaiten_ and letting the creatures' momentum carry them into their shredding doom. As she came out of the spin, she fired a Vacuum Palm blast that knocked a pair of Armored Knights end over end. Nearby, Riku split a Neoshadow in half down the middle, while Salia fried a trio of Red Nocturnes with a burst of blue psionic lightning. The clash between Archer and Rider continued, and it was clear the former was winning; even deliberately holding back to avoid lethal blows, he was keeping her on the defensive, not even giving her the time & space needed to activate any of her Noble Phantasms.

Shirou easily circled around Shinji's attempt to guard and hammered the arrogant bastard with a left cross to the face, the latest in a respectably long line of blows he'd landed so far. The Matou-clan youth definitely looked worse for wear, while Shirou barely had a hair out of place. Frustration peaking, Shinji finally pulled something out of his uniform jacket: a book, a grimoire carrying a curious magical-energy signature.

"Rider! Come to me and kill him!"

Rider abruptly broke off from her fight with Archer with a burst of super-speed, compelled by the grimoire's power (though she'd have really rather left the stupid boy to get his ass kicked). However, as she appeared between the two boys, beginning to advance on Shirou, Saber came in and got in her way, and Rider found herself in another Servant-on-Servant clash.

However, Shirou and Saber weren't the only ones to have seen Shinji pull out that grimoire and use it, instead of Command Seals, to order Rider around.

"So _that's_ how someone with as little magic as him could get a Servant" Rin remarked. "It's not a case of dormant untapped power like Emiya-kun or a special connection or ability; Rider isn't _his_ Servant!"

"If that's the case…" Illya said, dispelling her Valor Form and then pulling out a Class Card. "If what Caster-san told me about her abilities is true, we have a way to take him out of the fight! Class Card Caster, Include!"

With a flash, Kaleid Ruby assumed the form of a bizarrely-shaped dagger. Gripping the Rule Breaker, Illya charged in at Shinji Matou from the side. He saw her coming and gasped, not able to react in time as the pink-clad little girl with a knife closed in on him. Reflexively he grabbed the only thing he had on hand to try and shield his heart with… and Illya smirked as the grimoire he was controlling Rider with was thus fully vulnerable. She thrusted Rule Breaker in, and the crooked dagger pierced the magic book.

The grimoire 'pulsed' as the magic stored in it was set free, the book losing most of its color and becoming nothing more than a lump of papers and ink. Instantly, Rider stopped fighting Saber, as she felt her stolen connection to Shinji be severed, freeing her. Looking at the heroes in awe, she smiled.

"Thank you" she said. "All of you. Now I can return to the side of my _true_ Mistress…"

She looked around, and then briefly 'vanished' in a burst of super speed, appearing about a dozen meters away, kneeling in front of a girl who'd been hiding behind a tree and watching & listening to the whole affair. The girl was short, about 5'1", though rather buxom, with purple eyes and hair.

"S…Sakura?" Shirou said with some shock, instantly recognizing his shy but kind-hearted classmate who seemed to like being around him a lot for some reason. Nearby, Rin's eyes visibly widened.

"U-Um…" the Matou heiress fidgeted. "I-I can explain… I think?"

"The Matou clan patriarch _forced_ this girl to summon me," Rider explained, "and then forced her to hand me off to that spineless worm" Even with her blindfold it was obvious she was glaring at the still-shocked Shinji with contempt. "I _very_ much prefer to be her Servant instead. Not only does she have rather large mana reserves, but she is kind, and gentle, and pure… and very cute, too. Zouken and Shinji have abused her, emotionally and I suspect physically as well. I've wanted to find a way to extract her from that place, from their hold on her. …Will you heroes help me?"

Suddenly, Shinji pulled out and threw what looked like a throwing-knife, aimed at Sakura. Rider pulled the purple-haired girl out of the way… and, as one Neoshadow pulled Shinji to safety through a Dark Gateway, another sprang up from the shadows behind Sakura, caught the airborne dagger, and threw it at her again. This time, she failed to completely dodge it; it sliced across the edge of her arm with a little spray of blood. Within seconds, she started trembling, the area of the wound feeling painfully hot.

"Damn" Archer cursed as he came in. "I used my 'Sight' to inspect it as it flew by; that dagger was poisoned!"

Sakura collapsed to her knees, feeling the unknown toxin already starting to take effect. But then, a boy or young man in an identity-concealing cloak and sunglasses came up, and what looked like several tiny insects emerged from the long sleeve of his coat as he laid a hand over the wound.

"Stay calm" he said in a quiet, deep voice. "My _kikaichū_ will neutralize the poison."

"Who are you?" Rider asked, wary.

"Shino Aburame. At a young age, the members of the Aburame clan are implanted with special insects that use and feed on chakra. In exchange for letting them use our bodies as hives and consume a small percentage of our chakra, they obey our every command. They are excellent allies for combat and for tracking. And in the wake of an incident when I was younger, I have bred a strain amongst my hive that specializes in neutralizing poisons and venoms."

"A symbiotic relationship with _chi_ -eating insects… Even for me, that's rather odd. But if you can help my Mistress…"

The purple-haired girl tried her hardest to remain calm, helped by the fact that not only was the presence of the _kikaichū_ at work in her body not painful at all (though it certainly felt a little weird), already she could feel the effects of the poison lessening, the throbbing pain and heat fading. Soon, Shino's bugs had done what they could, returning to their Master. And as they did, they passed onto him knowledge of what _else_ they had detected inside of her…

"…My anti-toxin bugs have removed most of the poison," he said, "but for safety's sake I believe you should accompany us back to our 'base' at the Einzbern/Emiya household so that a more dedicated healer can take a better look at you and see if there is any further damage to be repaired. In addition, if your knave of a brother has already tried to kill you once we cannot put off the possibility of another attempt, and you will be better protected there. Lastly, we have the other Servants except for Lancer under our banner, and your Rider seems a decent sort despite the nature of her former false-Master. Ms. Rider, would you be willing to aid us in keeping this world safe from the corrupted Grail and the other dark forces that threaten it?"

" _Corrupted_ Grail?" Rider asked.

"We can explain in detail once we're in a safer location" Saber replied. "What shall you decide?"

"…Let's go with them, Rider" Sakura spoke. "At the very least, w-we'll probably be safer with them."

"…If you say so, Mistress…"

As the group began to take their leave, Sakura stole a glance at Rin, who was seemingly trying not to look at her.

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Einzbern/Emiya Household**

Sakura 'Matou' fidgeted a bit as the pane of light from an Omnitool swept over her, performing a medscan to search for any remains of the poison as well as any damage it may have done to her. After a few seconds, the holographic device chimed and flashed green; no trace of the chemical data inputted remained within her.

"No poison left in you" Tiida announced. "That's one less worry. Shino's bugs do good work."

The girl sighed in relief, relaxing a bit. Of course, she couldn't really relax too much; besides the strangeness of her current situation, she was in the home of the boy she had feelings for, meeting his parents, his little sister, and his Servant. And, there was still the shock that Shirou was a Master…

"Now then," the Aburame spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "I believe there are a few other things connected to Matou-san that must be addressed. Uchihas, I believe you noticed already?"

"Yeah" Teana replied. "Her chakra signature and Shinji Matou's are too different, as are their magical-energy signatures. You two aren't blood-related, are you?"

Sakura fidgeted. "…N-No, we're not. I was… given to the Matou Clan as a child…"

Kiritsugu nodded. "It's an old custom among some mage families. Since tradition is that only one child is chosen as an heir to the family's magecraft secrets, if another child shows promise in magical ability they may be adopted out to another clan that lacks a worthy heir."

Itachi activated his Sharingan, analyzing Sakura's chakra signature. After a few seconds he looked around the room, his gaze soon fixing on Rin. The others followed his gaze, and Rin cast her eyes down and turned away partially.

"Sakura Tohsaka… right?" Leysritt asked.

"…Yes" the purple-haired girl replied in a low, quiet tone. "That is the name I was born with, that I possessed until I was given to the Matou."

"There is something else my _kikaichū_ detected" Shino continued. "Something… disconcerting."

While the others were confused and curious at that statement, Sakura began to go pale, stiffening. 'H-He… He knows? About _them_?'

"Hinata, if you please?"

The kunoichi nodded, looking at Sakura and activating her Byakugan. After a few seconds, the group was surprised as the Hyuuga heiress gasped in horror.

"W-What in the Sage's name…?" she squeaked out.

"What is it?" Tiida, Irisviel, and Rider all asked simultaneously.

"T-There are these… hideous worm-things inside her body… All over… A-And their chakra & mana signature is so… twisted and tainted and _wrong_ … They're c-connected to her chakra-producing organs and her Linker Core…"

Irisviel actually let out a low growl. "Crest Worms… Damn you, Zouken…"

"What are Crest Worms?" Luvia asked.

"The secret art of the Makiri clan, which became the Matou clan" Kiritsugu replied, his tone low and serious. "They act as artificial magic circuits, enabling a mage to call upon greater power with more ease than they would normally be able to – though originally used to increase the magical strength of people with low magic potential, it has also been used as a 'shortcut' for those who don't have the will or the time to increase their magical power the old-fashioned way of training & study."

"But, they come at a great cost" Irisviel picked up where her husband left off. "They eat at the user's mana supply, and can cause great pain if their hunger is not sated. It's distressingly common through the clan's history for people unable to supply the Worms in the long term to be literally eaten alive from the inside by the insidious creatures. And they're just as happy to eat someone they're not inside if the chance presents itself; Rin-chan, our scrying sources confirmed your 'uncle' Kariya was killed and eaten by a horde of the things toward the end of the Fourth War."

"They are parasites," Archer spoke up, "ravenous beasts of Dark Magic, and anyone implanted with them is all but guaranteed a shortened and miserable life."

"Did you volunteer to have them implanted within you?" Leysritt asked Sakura.

Trembling, the purple-haired girl shook her head 'no', and Irisviel's fists tightened.

"God damn your black soul, Zouken…" she repeated.

"This can't be easy for you," Salia said to Rin, "knowing some of what's happened to your sister…"

"…It doesn't matter to me" the black-haired girl said in a (forced) cold tone.

Most of the others reacted with shock at that proclamation. "T-Tohsaka…!" Shirou said in a shocked, scandalized voice. "How could you-"

"By the rights and customs of the Magus Association," Rin interrupted, pronouncing her words carefully, "of the Three Great Clans… She stopped being my sister when she became the Matou heir. That is the way things are, the way they always have been. It's not my place to care about what happens to another clan's daughter. Such sentimentality is forbidden and meaningless."

"How can you say that?-!" Kuro exclaimed. "Tired old customs of a stagnant society shouldn't mean shit! She's your blood!"

"No she is not! As _the_ daughter of the Tohsaka clan, I don't care about-"

A harsh sound rang out as Luvia's palm impacted Rin's left cheek with enough force to almost knock her over. The blonde had always clashed with Tohsaka and had given her childishly dirty looks, but the glare she had in her eyes now was positively _hateful_. Returning the glare for a few seconds, Rin then dusted herself off, turned, and without a word exited the house, heading into the backyard.

"I can't believe… that Rin-san could be so cruel…" Illya said, clearly hurt by everything.

"…She may not be" Itachi spoke up. "I was paying close attention. Her body language, subtle hints in her voice, subtle shifts in her chakra… She is lying to herself, her nature as a 'person' and as a 'proper mage' clashing with each other. Deep down, part of her knows that what she says and believes is not right, but pride and indoctrination into magus society values prevents her from facing and admitting that."

"We'll deal with her later" Sasuke said.

"She may have changed her tune had she stayed to listen to the whole story," Kiritsugu spoke again, "learned one of the biggest reasons why Crest Worms are considered vile abominations."

"It gets worse?" Fuuka asked.

"I haven't mentioned how Crest Worms get _into_ someone's body…"

Sakura went even paler, her body language showing a mixture of shame and fear. Leysritt and Rider's hands on her shoulders steadied her only a little, also inadvertently keeping her from fleeing.

"For males, the Worms are swallowed whole, or they are implanted surgically. But for women… The Crest Worms have another name among those who know of them."

"And that would be?" Saber asked.

Kiritsugu had an even darker expression on his face. "Rape Worms."

Nobody stayed stoic in the face of _that_ revelation, of what it implied. Archer and Irisviel, the only other ones to know how the Crest Worms worked, tightened their fists, eyes downcast in grim accepting realization. Though quiet, Itachi, Riku, Tiida, and Shino's eyes visibly widened, while Sasuke, Kiba, and Salia's had looks of shock and terrible realization on their faces. Teana, Hinata, Saber, and Rider were even more visibly affected, while the four children, Sella, Luvia, and Shirou had looks of horror on their faces.

"For females," Irisviel continued, "the Crest Worms force themselves into the body through… every available orifice. Mainly nesting in the uterus, they connect to and violate the victim's nerves and body systems, able to respond to a need for more mana with either terrible pain, or with artificially-induced maddening lust and twisted, humiliating unwanted pleasure; since semen can be easily converted into large amounts of mana, Crest Worms have been known to send a female host into an uncontrollable, maddening heat, driving them insane with unwanted, spirit-breaking lust, to the point of accepting rape if it would make it stop."

"When I've been observing the school the past couple days," Tiida growled, "I thought there was something odd about the body language between Sakura and the Matou boy. I'd bet that he's…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence; everyone got the gist of it, especially when Sakura hunched over, hugging herself and trembling. Several fists tightened almost to the point of drawing blood.

"I'm going to kill him…" Shirou said in a low, deadly tone. "The moment I get Tracing nailed down, I'm going to use the first blade I Trace to chop his worthless head off…"

"Not if I beat you to it" Kuro replied in an identical tone.

"And there is one more question, the answer of which could make the whole thing even worse. Sakura-chan, when were you… implanted with the things?"

After a second, there was a barely-stifled sob. "A… A f-few days after I was… given to the Matou… A room with a pit… full of them… F-Five days…"

"They… They threw a _five-year-old_ into a pit of Rape Worms for five days straight…" Irisviel gasped out, utterly horrified.

The Lanstar siblings' auras faintly wavered with barely-contained horrified fury, as did Riku's and Itachi's. Illya and Miyu were actually crying from the horror, the imagined terrible despair and violation. Even the Servants looked like they were barely restraining themselves for rushing for the Matou manner and going on the warpath against Zouken and Shinji; Saber had unconsciously summoned her sword, and was gripping the hilt so hard it almost hurt.

Sakura, trembling and on the verge of tears from fear and shame, found herself being pulled into a close embrace by Rider, the tall purple-haired woman tightly hugging her traumatized young Mistress, stroking her hair and almost-imperceptibly rocking her a little bit. No force on Heaven or Earth could stop her from making sure those two monsters never got anywhere near Sakura ever again, and if they ever tried she would leave them begging for death…

- _Break_ -

Outside, by the shed in back, Rin Tohsaka paced, two sides of herself at war; unfortunately, the 'proper magus' side had the advantage for now.

"So that is your response?"

Jumping, she turned to face the sudden new voice, seeing a figure emerge from the shadows.

"You disgust me" Alektra proclaimed. "So wrapped up in 'traditions' and what's 'proper' that you forsake your humanity…"

Rin tried to mentally call Archer, but found that for some reason she was unable to. Alektra slowly advanced on her, until her back was against the shed wall in the shadows.

"You refuse to empathize with what your only remaining family, your _sister_ , has suffered through? Perhaps I should enlighten you. We'll see if you change your tune… once you've walked a few miles through Hell in _her_ shoes…"

She abruptly moved forward, grasping Rin's head & face in her left hand, and her eyes pulsed red with psionic power. And…

- _Break_ -

The quiet, solemn atmosphere that things had developed into was suddenly, violently broken by a loud, horrible scream from the backyard – long in duration, full of horror and despair and terror, a sound that chilled the soul. Everyone rushed outside into the backyard, and by the shed they saw Alektra standing there with arms folded. Beside and behind her, Rin was curled up on the ground, tightly clutching her head with both hands, still whimpering and screaming.

"What did you do to her?-!" Salia ignited her psi-blades, eyes glowing, the others following suit in readying for combat.

"I used my dark and psionic powers, forced her to experience everything _she_ ," she pointed to Sakura, "has suffered through – every moment of torture and violation, every feeling of fear and shame and self-loathing, every little bit of Hell, through her forsaken sister's eyes, pretty much all at once."

Sakura shuddered in horror. Alektra calmly opened a Dark Gateway behind herself and walked backwards through it, leaving Rin curled up on the ground, trembling and twitching, whimpering and sobbing, her eyes glazed over and unfocused as tears streamed from them.

"Please…" she whimpered, trembling violently. "No more… I'm sorry… Inside me… Get them out, get them out… It hurts… So _wrong_ … S-So hot… Sliding around beneath my skin… Please, not there, no more… I'm sorry I'm sorry Oh God I'm so sorry…"

As the mentally-violated teen continued quietly babbling and sobbing, Archer carefully scooped her up, carrying her back into the house, with everyone following silently behind.

"What the hell did they do to you?" Kiba murmured to Sakura Matou with pity and horror, punctuated by a whimper from Akamaru.

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next Time: the aftereffects of Sakura's recruitment and Alektra's attacks, and the awakening of the Eighth Card…


	6. The Eighth Card

I literally just thought of a plothole I accidentally dug: the school had people in it, but it's Summer vacation.

…Uh… P… Pretend that it was summer school, like what we have here in the States. Does Japan have that? …Well, the Japan of TMN-5 in this fic does now.

Also, forgot about Qrow, will try to rectify that.

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **That Night**

Rin had been unresponsive for the past few hours; she'd been left lying on the couch with at least one person watching over her at all times, and she was usually either in a listless state and murmuring various things in a pitiful tone, or sleeping fitfully. The various physical and emotional tortures that Sakura had undergone since early childhood bounced around in Rin's brain, dominating her nightmares, making her relive them all over again.

At the moment, Sakura was the one watching over her stricken sister. Looking at her long-'lost' sibling with empathy and pity, she reached out to gently move a lock of the other girl's hair. A few seconds later, Rin's eyes fluttered open. For a few seconds the two sisters were still & silent as they stared at each other. Then, tears building in Rin's eyes while a tiny whimper escaped her throat were all the 'warning' Sakura got before the black-haired girl all but lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Sakura's waist and bursting into tears. Mixed in with her heaving sobs and cries were barely-coherent sobbing apologies and broken pleas for forgiveness that she felt she did not deserve. Sakura pulled Rin up into a proper embrace as her own tears began to flow.

For the next while, the two long-separated sisters simply held each other and cried together. Alektra had merely meant to break an enemy's mind and remove them from the fight, but she had instead inadvertently laid the foundation for a long-overdue familial reconciliation…

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Next Day**

Rin was _slowly_ recovering, supported mainly by Sakura and Irisviel. The two sisters were continuing to try and further repair their relationship. Sakura and Rider had also been settling in with the local alliance, learning what they could about the mess they were now in, including the Dimensional Defense Force.

The DDF's people, meanwhile, were brainstorming over what to do about the Crest Worms in Sakura's body, starting to place calls to some of the DDF's more experienced and knowledgeable mages. In addition, it had been confirmed that Sakura's chakra reserves were actually quite high, even without taking the Worms into account (in fact, they had almost zero impact on her chakra, so her large pool of usable chakra was more-likely-than-not entirely natural). Also, they were working on developing a special visor or something that would allow Rider to see without triggering her Petrifying Gaze except when she wanted to ("like Cyclops from those Terran comics" Fuuka summed up).

Shortly after lunch, Sakura Matou… rather, Sakura _Tohsaka_ stood in the backyard, watched over by Itachi and Teana. Having learned of her high chakra potential, she had decreed that in addition to learning how to fight, she wanted to be able to help in a different way as well. After quickly picking up the basics of chakra production ('helped' a little by knowledge 'copy-&-paste' implantation), she was prepared to hopefully find new allies that would help her & her new friends. Taking a deep, slow breath, she neatly sliced the tip of her finger open, drawing a bit of blood. Then, she weaved the five hand-seals she'd been told, and slammed her palm to the ground.

In a puff of smoke, Sakura vanished from her current plane of reality.

- _Break_ -

When she emerged, Sakura found herself in what appeared to be a small, somewhat-sparse but old & healthy forest; trees that she'd never seen anything like before surrounded her, on average around 80-120 meters tall. Her 'senses' told her this place was rich in Nature Energy, allowing the plants to thrive. Turning around, she saw that the forest clearly bordered what looked like a massive desert that extended as far as the eye could see, and that she was essentially at the edge of this border. Slowly, she walked forward, among the point where sand and tree roots mingled to a degree.

Then, the ground began to tremble. Sakura sensed a formidable natural-energy signature, and then its owner emerged from beneath the earth. She stared in awe and fear, rooted to the spot, as the massive creature loomed over her, letting out a soft screeching hiss as it appraised her. But it did not attack. The ground heaved as two more of the creatures emerged, each of them easily towering 100 meters or more above the ground.

And then, a deep rumble from the earth that Sakura felt in her bones heralded the emergence of a mind-bogglingly enormous specimen of these beings. The beast had streaks of green among the blue of its smaller fellows, its entire body was _full_ of potent chakra and nature energy, and its overall Presence was overwhelming and awe-inspiring. The massive entity loomed over her, casting a massive shadow that sheltered Sakura from the sun, and then it slowly lowered down toward her. She stood, silent and rooted to the spot, as the creature's head – far, far larger than her entire body – was lowered to right in front of her. A massive claw was slowly, carefully extended, held just in front of her. With a little hesitation, she reached out and touched it.

And then, she understood. These creatures gained intelligence as they aged and by learning to wield Nature Energy. This… matriarch, fully sapient, was around _ten thousand years old_. And even as Sakura touched the ancient being's mind, so it touched hers, peering into her heart while using its energies to 'scan' her body. Her heart was kind, and strong, though marred by abuse and some residual self-disgust, and the peek into the girl's horrible memories explained that. Nonetheless… Furthermore, the ancient 'Sage' creature detected the foul corruption taken root in the girl's body, including one piece attached to her heart. It was actually the contained for a wicked, blackened old soul, using her as a host and remotely controlling his body.

That would not do.

Zouken Matou, sitting in his mansion and plotting, suddenly received sensory information directly from the 'Core' Worm that was parasitically attached to Sakura's heart, containing his soul. He was faced with an utterly overwhelming presence, looking upon him with disdain and disgust, and then the matriarch 'spoke' a single word:

" **BEGONE.** "

There was an awful feeling, and as his awareness returned to his room in the Matou Manner he felt it: his soul had been exorcised from Sakura, forcibly ousted and returned to his body. Zouken was left trembling from the memory of that oppressive, stunningly powerful presence; what in the world _was_ that?

Meanwhile, back in the other Realm, Sakura felt like something dirty had been pushed out of her. In addition, she could feel residual traces of the ancient being's energies circulating within her, beginning to slowly weaken the various Crest Worms. Over the next week or so, the abominable creatures would slowly wither and die, their bodies broken down into chakra & mana and absorbed harmlessly by Sakura's body. Then, the ancient matriarch reared up, looking down at Sakura, and she heard the being's psychic voice, low and commanding but with a tone of gentle acceptance:

' **BY YOUR STRENGTH OF WILL AND STRENGTH OF HEART, YOU ARE WORTHY TO COMMAND MY OFFSPRING IN BATTLE. OUR MIGHT IS YOURS AS NEEDED, CHILD.** '

Sakura felt a spark of the ancient being's power flow into her, sensing as the Summoning Contract was forged; for the first time in over 500 years, these creatures had a Summoner.

When she returned to where she had left from, she had quite a story to tell her Local and DDF allies…

 **-** _ **BREAK**_ **-**

 **Five Days Later**

Far below the starry late-night sky, at the bottom of a deep artificial mine-like pit, several people prepared for battle. Illya & Berserker, Miyu, Kuro, Rin & Archer, Luvia & Assassin, and Riku made ready to make the jump into the 'Mirror World' to finally confront the mysterious Eighth Card. With a thud, Bazett appeared from leaping down from a catwalk a few stories up, landing amongst the group with seconds to spare.

"I'll let you people make the first move" she said. "That's the concession I'll give you for this."

"Gee, thanks…" Rin replied; she had since gotten some of her snark back as she gradually recovered from her previous 'ordeal'.

The whole group got close together, and Miyu & Sapphire triggered the Mirror World transition. For several seconds, everyone was surrounding by swirling, shifting, distorted colors. When their perception of reality reasserted itself, they found themselves on one end of a very large chamber. Dominating the center was a huge swirling vortex of red, purple, and black energies, the sound of howling wind filling the chamber. In addition, those magically sensitive enough could sense a startlingly powerful dark energy signature somewhere inside the darkness.

"A mist of black mana?" Miyu said, eyes wide.

"Is this like when we faced Saber-san's dark copy?" Illya asked.

"No," Kaleid Ruby replied, "this is on a whole other level."

"Don't falter" Luvia said. "No matter what form our enemy takes, the things we must do remain the same."

"And _who's_ supposed to make the first move, again?" Kuro asked with a smirk.

In response, Luvia and Assassin took off running, one going to the left and the other right. Reacting to their approaching presence, the dark-mana mist formed into tendrils that started lashing out at them, as what sounded like a deep, heavily distorted human voice came from somewhere in the core of the dark whirlwind, growling at the intruders. The duo dodged the various attacks, and soon each of them placed a specially-tuned 'Mana Gem' at a predetermined point on the floor. As they advanced, Luvia ducked and rolled and jumped to dodge tendrils lashing out at her, while Assassin drew his blade and cut a couple of them away to mix in with his dodging. Finally, the duo placed the following two gems into their place. They then leapt away, making their way to the others, and Luvia threw a fifth gem into the center that triggered the rune setup and contained spell:

" _Jormungandr_!"

The hidden figure – now faintly visible as a humanoid shape – let out grunts of surprised pain as an invisible force tightened around the center of the maelstrom, distorting the mass of swirling mana into an hourglass-like shape. Following their cure, Illya & Miyu sped up the charging of their attacks, while Rin drew the Azoth Dagger from its sheathe and tossed out eight different gemstones which floated in the air as they quickly formed into a row. As she began the lengthy incantation, each gemstone produced a roughly diamond-shaped golden rune, springing up one at a time from the rearmost gem on, each rune slightly smaller than the last. Riku and Archer recognized it as a focusing/amplifying array – shoot a magic attack through it, and the attack would be accelerated and supercharged.

The array's effect was promptly put to good use, as Rin, Illya, and Miyu each fired a charged-up magic blast into the array. From the other end emerged a magnified and accelerated amalgamation of their energies in the form of a single huge, high-speed blast that screamed through the air and slammed into the restrained entity and its mist, the resultant blast blowing away most of the dark mana.

"We got it!" Illya shouted.

"Not yet" Rin replied. "Its presence hasn't faded."

Sure enough, the smoke cleared to reveal more of the dark-mana mist being generated, swirling around the hidden figure at the center, which appeared untouched. Now, Kuro and Archer dashed forward, circling around to the right together, summoning their bows as they went. Taking position together, they Traced and readied their swords for use as projectiles. As Archer summoned Caladbolg II, he looked in surprised awe at what his scantily-clad little female counterpart had pulled out.

'A 'Broken' Excalibur with Avalon? She has the skill and mana reserves to Trace something like that without even tiring her?'

As the Eighth Card Spirit sent a stabbing tendril of dark-mana mist at them, the two archers let their 'arrows' fly, piercing through the incoming attack attempt and impacting the main target with a mighty explosion. However, when the smoke and flames faded, it was revealed that a mysterious metallic wall or huge shield was in place, and it had withstood the impact of two high-level armor-piercing Broken Phantasms with no signs of damage.

"So, on top of that turbulent mess of dark magic that can form tendrils which have much more power in them than they appear to," Riku said, "now it has a really durable shield, too?"

"Miyu, let's give it another shot" Illya said, readying Kaleid Ruby.

"Too late!" Rin shouted. "Incoming!"

Luvia tossed a turquoise gem forward, releasing a large, circular Rune Shield with a revolving center, glowing bright green. A barrage of rapid and crushingly powerful strikes from the solid-mana 'tendrils' began battering at the shield, which quickly started to warp and crack as the punishment added up. Then, some of the tendrils began to spread out and attack from the sides, forcing the others to act; Miyu and Rin started blasting at the things, while Assassin and Kuro used their blades to parry them. Berserker tried to grab one but it slithered out of his grip, so he resorted to whacking at them with his sword as they came.

"What do we do now?-!" Kuro asked as she cut away another tendril that had tried to stab her in the gut.

Luvia gritted her teeth as her barrier finally shattered. "Fall back! The strategy is a failure!"

The gang began a hasty withdrawal back towards where the Mirror Road had been opened, blasting and striking at the dark-mana tendrils that pursued them. Suddenly, they stopped in surprise as Bazett shot past them, charging _towards_ the formidable enemy, her gloves and boots glowing green with charged enforcement magic. Many of the dark-mana tendrils lashed out at her, but Berserker swung his sword to release a crushing wave of wind that battered away several that had been preparing to stab at Bazett from above, giving her a clearer path as she approached the mysterious shield-wall.

"We've gotta help her!" Illya made ready to rush back in.

"No!" Kuro held a hand out to stop her as Bazett climbed/jumped up the enemy's wall. "It's too late. She's going to die…"

The instant Bazett leapt up to clear the wall, there was a flash of movement and a spray of blood. A second later, she dropped unceremoniously to the floor at the foot of the gate, skewered through the torso and limbs by eight swords. Then, the wall dissolved away, revealing their enemy – a human-shaped figure, slender in builds, covered in spike black armor, with no visible features besides glowing red eyes and a fanged grin – and dozens, if not _hundreds_ , of swords and spears floating in the air, of all shapes & sizes.

"What… is this…?" Miyu murmured, just as in shock as the rest of them.

"This can't be…" Archer stared at the field of floating blades. "Those weapons… They're _all_ Noble Phantasms!"

"But that's impossible!" Rin replied. "A Servant shouldn't have more than three on average!"

'It shouldn't be, that's true…' the Counter Guardian thought. 'It's been so long, my memory's a bit fuzzy… so why do I feel like this is familiar?'

Incredibly, Bazett was still alive and conscious, though she was quickly losing blood. As she slowly staggered to her feet, the swords dematerialized into mana, their removal from her body increasing the rate of blood loss. Then, one of the many floating swords abruptly reoriented itself, and then shot toward her. Illya tried to cry out a warning, but barely got one syllable out before the flying blade pierced into Bazett's heart.

"…Conditions… met…" the woman gasped out, a weak grin forming on her face beneath fading eyes.

There was a pulse of light, like a heartbeat, as various runes briefly appeared circling around and pulsing in & out from Bazett's body. They then melded into her, and instantaneously her wounds sealed shut, completely healed. Then, she charged at the enemy again, as good as new and madder than ever. Before the dark entity could react she was right in its face, lashing out with a pair of blows that shook the air and bashed it back into the far wall.

"H-How?" Illya gasped. "She got stabbed in the heart…"

"A resurrection rune…" Rin observed. "Those are rare even among the Association's highest echelons. To think she had one set up… It likely activated the instant her heart stopped beating. That is magic on par with a Noble Phantasm."

The Spirit of the Eighth Card was sent reeling back by Bazett's continued assault. However, though she was clearly doing damage, that damage was repairing itself at an alarming rate, such that by the time each of her blows landed, the injuries from her previous strike had fully healed. Then, the Card Spirit began firing blades at her out of the shadowy mist that still clung to the ground, forcing her to get quite a bit of distance. The Card-Spirit now unleashed a hailstorm of blades blanketing most of the room. Unfortunately, it was still aware of Illya's group, so many of the weapons were focused at them.

"Ruby, shield!" Illya cried out, panicking.

"That won't be enough!" Kuro shouted as she leapt forward, thrusting a hand out. " _Rho Aias_!"

A solid-magic shield in form of four large pink petals formed, and was then reinforced as Archer added his own red-hued version, forming an eight-petaled, two-colored 'flower'. The rain of blades began hammering at the combined shield, stabbing deep into it, and the two 'Fakers' strained; the _Rho Aias_ was best used to stand against a single mighty impact, not a seemingly-endless sustained barrage that continuously wore away at its caster's mana.

"It's not gonna hold!" the girl shouted as two of her shield's petals disintegrated.

"Miyu, get us out of here!" Rin ordered.

As Bazett continued her charge, she sensed the flare of magical energy unique to a Mirror Road jump. Confident that the others had escaped, she summoned three of her catalyst spheres, orbiting around each other as they floated around & above her right fist. The Card-Spirit roared as it sent a veritable wall of blades flying at her, but Bazett's catalyst-spheres glowed bright with power as she punched forward, unleashing a Triple Fragarach that blasted a path through the incoming blades all the way to her target. She lunged forward, finally getting right in front of the Card Spirit's now-helpless form… and the entity grinned as a pair of conjured spears shot down, right at Bazett's forehead and heart…

A pair of arrows shot in at lightning speed, striking the deadly spears and knocking them off-course. Astonished, Bazett looked back to see Kuro and Archer with their bows out. Then, a pair of pink star-shaped Binds formed on the Card-Spirit's wrists, the creature roaring out in fury and trying to thrash around.

"Do it, Bazett!" Illya shouted.

Shrugging off the trio's foolishness at remaining behind, Bazett charged as much power as she could into her left hand, and then thrusted it forward, spearing through the dark entity's chest.

"Got it!" she shouted in triumph, her hand gripping the card, which she could now see through the large hole she'd punched through the Card Spirit's chest. "I've got the card. The Class is… …Ar…cher?"

Astonished by seeing what should be impossible, she nearly lost her arm as the Card Spirit's body tried to reform around it. She quickly yanked it out, forced to leave the Class Card behind as the dark being's body healed around it. With a roar, the entity blasted her back with a mighty gust of black wind, sending her flying. Archer managed to catch her, as Illya & Kuro gathered around him.

Then, as the Card Spirit's energies surged, an object emerged from the floor beside it, a peculiar-looking weapon whose mere presence was so ancient and twisted that it chilled the blood of those who saw it… but none more-so than Archer, who immediately recognized it and realized just whose Card-Spirit they were fighting.

"No…" he breathed out, a look of fear on his face for the first time since he was summoned in this War.

With a vicious cry, the Card Spirit thrusted its drill-like weapon forward, unleashing a maelstrom of black and bright-red energy that tore its way toward the instinctively-horrified quartet. Kaleid Ruby acted fast, casting a Mirror Road and whisking them away to safety just before they were overcome. And as they left, they heard the entity's distorted voice speak coherently for the first time:

" _ **HoLy… gRAil…**_ "

- _Break_ -

In the normal Realm, a magic circle of shimmering colors shrunk and faded away, revealing Archer, Bazett, Illya, & Kuro.

"What were you idiots thinking?-!" Rin snapped.

"It seems we can't really say you made it back safe & sound," Luvia remarked, "judging by the looks of you."

"I witnessed Hell…" Bazett said in a haunted tone. "No… I witnessed a myth…" She hurriedly tried to compose herself. "We don't know a lot, but we do have a couple pieces of intel. The Eighth Card's identity is unknown… but its Class is Archer."

This drew various shocked reactions.

"A… A second Archer…?" Miyu asked.

"It's worse" the Servant Archer spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I _do_ know whose Spirit the Card is. That weapon it withdrew at the end… I'd recognize it anywhere."

"You know who it is?" Riku asked.

The tall red-clad man nodded. "The weapon it wielded was 'Ea', a Genesis Weapon from the Age of Gods. Only one being wields that most ancient of Noble Phantasms, as well as that storm of Noble Phantasm blades and that unholy amount of power. Going up against _that_ Card Spirit, we're in deeper trouble than we ever realized."

"Quit stalling for the sake of being dramatic" Rin demanded, obviously rattled by her Servant's words. "Who is it?"

Archer looked up at the others, a look of grim dread in his eyes. "Gilgamesh."

Bazett, having studied on the records of the Fourth War, went deathly pale with terror, while everyone else – having heard the stories of the Fourth War from Saber and Irisviel – reacted in a similar manner, a few of them actually trembling. Even Berserker, despite his Illya-restrained madness, looked a bit perturbed as he sensed his Mistress' fearful dread. The 'King of Heroes' – monumentally arrogant, heartlessly cruel and wicked, and hellishly powerful, bearing enough strength and skill to crush all other Servants if going all-out… Not only were they facing a Card-Spirit bearing Gilgamesh's essence and abilities, but its raving madness meant it did not have the original Gilgamesh's arrogant pride that led him to hold back and underestimate foes, meaning it would freely use the entirety of that monstrous amount of power…

"…Shit" Assassin Koujirou summed up.

"We need to meet up with the DDF," Rin said, "have every heavy-hitter on site and ready to go all-out. For now, we should get out of here, regroup and-"

There was a sound like glass cracking, as nearby a crack in the barrier between Realms formed. A piece of existence fell away like a broken mirror, revealing the Gilgamesh Card-Spirit's glowing red eye glaring out, the beast's distorted voice letting out a low snarl. Everyone turned in astonished horror as the hole widened, releasing a blast of wind and black mist that preceded the humanoid abomination slowly striding out, the rotating segments Ea in its hand slowly winding down after being used to break through.

"Im…possible…" Rin breathed out.

While everyone else was frozen, however, Luvia had hurried over to the far wall. Placing her fingertip on a gem set into the wall, she channeled a spark of mana into it, activating the set-in spell. A line of light shot up through the wall and into another gem, which forked out two more lines that each met _another_ gem… In a matter of seconds, a spiderweb of glowing mana lines lit up the walls and ceiling of the entire chamber. Then, explosions chained through the roof, which began to crumble.

"Everyone out!" Luvia ordered.

Illya took to the air while Miyu rapidly formed solid-magic 'stepping stones' (as she was psychosomatically incapable of magic-based flight), and Riku summoned his Keyblade Glider. Archer scooped up Rin and began making super-high leaps up through the escape shaft and stairs, followed in this by Berserker who was unceremoniously carrying Bazett under one arm, while Assassin carried Luvia bridal-style as he made his own super-speed leaps, and Kuro hitched a ride with Riku. As they escaped Illya looked back, seeing the Card-Spirit calmly standing in the center of the room even as the solid-rock ceiling collapsed on top of it.

"How the hell did it break through?" Kuro said.

"Ea is a weapon capable of destroying 'worlds' on a Conceptual level" Archer replied. "The Card-Spirit must've used it to destroy the Mirror World and cross over."

"So at full power," Riku asked, "that thing could tear a 'World' apart with the same thoroughness the Heartless could, or even physically shatter a planet?"

"At _least_ " the Guardian said.

There was a sudden crash from far below, and the area stopped shaking, but Archer kept moving.

"Keep going!" he shouted to everyone. "Even that won't hold him for long! We need to get out of here as quick as possible!"

The others followed his advice, and sure enough as they neared the exit they heard a crashing rumble. Illya looked down, and something huge and black was rocketing up through the shaft. Everyone finally reached the top and scattered, and seconds later an enormous construct, black with red lines, burst out and soared up into the sky on a pillar of smoke & fire, like an S.T.O. rocket taking off. They watched as the ship stopped once it was high in the sky, backlit by the full moon, hovering in place and then reorienting itself. Then, its engines kicked in…

"It's heading for the city!" Rin observed.

"We have to stop it!" Miyu started 'jumping' up.

"Hold it! It's too dangerous! If even a single Noble Phantasm lands in the city…"

"Then we'll lure it over the ocean!"

"And then what? Nothing we hit it with even made a dent…"

"But we can't just do nothing!" Illya retorted as Miyu came back down.

"Damn it… Archer, Riku, any ideas?"

The two swordsmen wracked their brains, trying to come up with something…

"I hear little piggies squealing~…"

The sudden new voice caught everyone's attention, and saw someone they hadn't expected at all.

"Honestly…" Caren Ortensia strode forward. "Two mages from prestigious families, an Enforcer, a Keyblade Master, and even Servants, all squealing away…"

"W-Why are you here?" Illya asked. "And… Why aren't you wearing a skirt?-!"

"Hm? This is my fashion."

"Wait, you know this woman?" Rin asked the girl.

"S-She's the school nurse…"

"Caren Ortensia, 'Sister' of the High Church" Bazett clarified. "Sent as backup for the Card retrieval, and as the church's 'Observer'."

"The… 'church'?"

"Another organization," Rin replied, "opposed to the Magus Association."

"We have a truce at the moment" Caren said."

"So… You're _not_ a nurse?" Illya asked. "That was a lie?"

"Not a lie; more of a hobby. I like seeing injured, upset kids; it's funny!"

'This woman is twisted…' Illya, Kuro, Archer, and Riku all thought simultaneously.

"I hadn't intended to take action, but you lost little lambs are so pathetic. For starters, you should understand your position before whining so much, you heathen fools…"

"Are you trying to pick a fight with us by insulting us like this?"

"Your eyes are full of holes, your heads are empty, and your hands cannot hold anything. But, that's all the more reason that you should open those holes in your eyes and wrack those empty brains of yours. Even if you can't reach anything, struggle to extend your hands." She pointed up to the sky, at the airship slowly flying overhead. "Observe, analyze, and act."

After a few seconds' thought, Miyu got some altitude, looking around… and noticed that not only was the city virtually dark and silent, but the sky itself seemed to have a faint shimmer to it.

"The whole city is dark except for streetlights!" she called down to the others. "There are no signs of life, and the sky has a weird tint to it!"

"That would be _our_ doing."

They looked, to see nearly the entire rest of the Local & DDF Groups arriving in the abandoned lot – Teana, Itachi, Tiida, Sasuke, Fuuka, Salia, Qrow, Team Kurenai, Shirou & Saber, Sakura & Rider, Irisviel & Kiritsugu, Sella & Leysritt, even Caster & Kuzuki had come.

"It's a Dimension-Shift Barrier," Teana explained, "TSAB magic. We were on our way to see if you guys needed backup when Sister Sadist here caught us and explained what she could. Now, what exactly are we up against with that ship thing up there?"

"The Eight Card-Spirit is that of Gilgamesh" Archer announced.

Kiritsugu, Irisviel, and Saber showed expressions of shocked horror at that little bombshell, while the rest of the group also showed varying degrees of shock, fear, and/or dread.

"You're certain?" Kiritsugu asked, dead-serious.

The red-clad Servant nodded. "It used Ea, along with the Gate of Babylon. And what's worse, this entity is stark-raving mad, so it doesn't have the humongous ego that the 'real' Gilgamesh is held back by."

"For the time being, at least," Rin spoke up, "it doesn't seem to intend an indiscriminate attack. …Wait, 'intend'? All the other Card-Spirits were pretty much mindless, but this one seems to have a will of its own…"

"In any case," Luvia said, "it seems we have some time. I propose we find a place to regroup and recover while we think of a plan."

"I have a place in mind…" Bazett suggested.

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

At the seaside shop that was run by the family of Illya's friend Tatsuko, everyone tried to come up with a battle plan. Even with the various heavy hitters on hand, if they were fighting something with the full power of the infamous 'King of Heroes', it was going to be a hard battle. One bit of confusion was what Illya & co. had reported the creature saying before they escaped. The Class Cards had no true connection to the Holy Grail War, yet the Card-Spirit had said 'Holy Grail'. It was an ominous sign…

A few of the Masters were prepared to do what they could to fight. Shirou and Kuzuki had both been training under the DDF and the melee-focused Servants (and Kiritsugu, in the former's case), and Shirou could already Trace simple weapons. Sakura was also training in magecraft and chakra usage; with the Crest Worms in her body slowly dying and being absorbed, her eyes had returned to their original green, and the roots of her hair were already starting to show the same shade of dark brown as Rin.

Suddenly, Caren called everyone outside. "The Card-Spirit's angle of rotation is changing" she announced. It seems he's searching for something."

"Whatever for?" Luvia wondered.

"Do any of you have information that might enable us to predict his goals?"

As everyone tried to think of something, the Card-Spirit's airship suddenly came to a halt, reoriented itself, and began flying straight forward with a purpose.

"It's heading toward Mt. Enzou…" Irisviel observed. "The Card-Spirits have no connection to the Grail War, yet that thing's heading straight for where the Greater Grail is supposed to materialize."

Miyu took off, 'running' through the sky, with Illya flying in her wake.

"Lanstar, Keyblader, get after them!" Caster said. "Once you reach your destination, I'll use your life-forces as homing beacons to teleport the rest of us to you."

Teana and Riku nodded, the former taking to the air and the latter forming his Keyblade Glider, both of them following in the two girls' wake.

"I don't get it…" Kuro mused. "Mama, the Cards aren't connected to the Einzbern clan's Holy Grail War, right?"

"That's correct" Irisviel nodded.

"…If that thing were seeking a 'Lesser Grail', it would go after myself or Illya. But right now, he's not going after either of us. If it's going after the magic-circle of the Greater Grail's formula, going for Mt. Enzou wouldn't be strange. But from what I understand, it needs the life-forces of the Servants to activate. That thing's actions don't make sense… unless we accept one, seemingly-impossible explanation."

" _Another_ Holy Grail War," Archer surmised, "unrelated to the one began by the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Makiri clans."

"But… that can't be…" Saber murmured.

"It's the closest thing to sensible, taking into account the various circumstances going on right now. Wherever the Class Cards are from, I'd bet they're connected to a different Holy Grail War. Sister Caren, you mentioned the Cards showed up out of nowhere?"

"Yes," the woman replied, "with no explanation or reasoning."

"It sounds farfetched, even before I say it aloud, but… Perhaps the Cards came from a parallel timeline or universe, and take the place of Servants in that universe's Grail War."

"At the same time the Cards appeared," Caren spoke up, "a circular area around 180 meters across at the peak of Mt. Enzou was… changed. It was replaced by a wasteland area. That was probably a chunk of the Cards' home world…"

"That _would_ explain some things" Itachi mused. "Though, one wonders how they got here…"

"…I think someone may know the answer to that" Shino spoke up. "Luvia-san, you have said that Miyu-san seemed to appear with little explanation, bearing magical knowledge and skill that should have been impossible for a civilian, and she seems to know more about the Cards than anyone else… Perhaps _she_ is from the same alternate timeline that the Class Cards come from, and made the inter-Realm trip alongside them."

Before anyone could really think about that, there was a brilliant flash of light as the Card-Spirit's airship obliterated a sizable chunk of the mountain, exposing the great cavern that held the Greater Grail's resting place. The Card-Spirit dispelled his airship and let himself drop straight down into the cavern, summoning a huge double-bladed sword with arcane runes carved into it and stabbing it into the rocks at his feet as he landed. The ground broke and buckled, forming chasms reaching several meters down, and revealing a huge, brightly-glowing, extremely complex magic rune-circle – the core rune of the Greater Grail. The Card-Spirit threw his head back, laughing maniacally as a swirl of dense dark mana sprang up around him.

"I'm getting the feeling that something really bad's about to happen…" Riku remarked.

Then, Illya dove in. "Help me! We have to try and push him out of the rune!"

A barrage of attacks slammed into the swirling wall of black 'mist', thinning it and exposing the still-laughing figure in the center. Propelling herself forward, Illya slammed staff-first into the figure's midsection, pushing as hard as she can… and, when the magic-matter that made up the entity's body gave way, something incredibly unexpected popped out.

A few moments later, the rest of the gang appeared via a large teleportation circle, just in time to hear a high, piercing scream from Illya. It wasn't one of pain or terror, however; rather, Leysritt quickly identified it as "a scandalized maidenly scream, like when Illya accidentally kissed Miyu-chan in her sleep and woke up halfway through it".

"Wait, _what_?" Rin turned to her.

"It's okay. Miyu-chan didn't really seem to mind at all."

"Um…"

Meanwhile, Archer and the veterans of the Fourth War were… stunned. They had considered the possibility of Gilgamesh further incarnating somehow… but not as a cuddly-cute little boy. Especially one who was butt-naked and running for cover as a brightly-blushing Illya fired a huge wave of mana bolts at him while screaming.

"Uh… You okay, Illya?" Shirou asked.

The girl in question was trembling while tightly clutching Kaleid Ruby, her face as red as the setting sun. " _I-touched-it-I-touched-it-I-touched-it-I-touched it! I SQUEEZED I-HIII-HIIIIIT~!-!-!_ "

Kuro valiantly fought to just barely keep herself from laughing her ass off. Fuuka and Miyu, meanwhile, were red-faced and trying to avert their gazes from the naked their-age boy.

"Jeez, this is unexpected" the ~10-year-old Gilgamesh said. "I'm the one who's most surprised of all here. Still, this really is pretty bad" He looked at the swirling tornado-like column of dark-mana mist shooting up from the center of the broken earth and underlying rune. "I never thought it'd end up like this. You people sure have done something rash, huh? So, how do you plan on taking responsibility for this kerfuffle, hm?"

"What the heck's going on, anyway?" Kaleid Ruby thought aloud.

"That's what _I'd_ like to know, too. I'm pretty confused about this sudden mess, here. It shouldn't be this messed up…"

"First, would ya mind putting some clothes on, kid?" Qrow said, arms crossed. "I really don't think Kiritsugu appreciates you flashing his daughters."

Illya was hiding partially behind a thin tree, trying very hard to keep her gaze focused on the blonde boy's face instead of… lower. Kuro's eyes, in contrast, were roaming over the boy's body, her cheeks a bit flushed as she enjoyed the 'view'. Miyu and Fuuka, meanwhile, continued to simply avert their eyes altogether.

The boy sighed, and reached his hand into a glowing gold portal in midair, rummaging around.

"I'm not sure if it's connecting properly," he said, "so don't expect too much."

After several seconds, he pulled out a simple pair of white shorts and an open vest that exposed his stomach area and the middle of his chest.

"Better?" he asked. "Now we can talk, right?"

"He's… not as unpleasant as the Gilgamesh I remember…" Saber said, still surprised.

"Hm? That you remember?" the boy asked.

In response, Teana had Saber bump fists with her, and then used her Sharingan to 'relay' Saber's memories of this Realm's Gilgamesh to his child counterpart.

"…Wow" the boy said after a few seconds. "Would I really be _that much_ of an asshole as a grown-up?"

Everyone's attention was then drawn as the dark-mana vortex rapidly expanded, rising up, and then collapsed down to reveal a swirling dome of brilliant light, a gust of releasing wind nearly knocking a few people over.

"This is an insane amount of magical power…" Teana murmured.

"Well, well," Kid-Gilgamesh said, "it seems things are progressing smoothly after all. The scale of the incarnation is increasing. Be careful, you people. If you touch the black substance that's just inside the glowing shell, you'll probably die. Of course, if you Servants touch it, you'll 'only' be corrupted instead."

The Class Cards in Illya & Miyu's holsters began to pulsate with light and power.

"Oh?" Kid-Gil looked at them, his red eyes now bearing a visible glow. "You have Cards with you? It appears the other Cards are drawing near, as well. I guess they really are drawn to each other… Right, Miyu-chan?"

That got everyone's attention, especially Illya's; they hadn't introduced themselves, so how…

"It can't be…" the black-haired girl murmured. "You…"

"I'm different from the other Heroic Spirits of my world. …I'm sorry, but it seems the other half of 'me' really wants the Holy Grail. I guess a ritual formula not perfectly attuned to 'our' War aren't enough for him."

"Stop…"

"Even if we wanted to continue the Ainsworth Grail War, it would go nowhere without you."

"Ainsworth…?" Archer murmured.

'There aren't any magus clans with that name…' Irisviel thought. 'At least, not here. So Miyu-chan is really from…'

"After all, you're…"

"Don't say any more!"

Miyu suddenly charged at Kid-Gil, swinging Kaleid Sapphire wreathed in energy, only to bounce off a shield of solid light that sprang up directly in front of the blonde boy. She leapt high, conjuring a massive wave of bright blue mana bolts, but Gil simply stood there and let his shields tank the hits effortlessly.

"You've become quite the tomboy," he remarked, "when all you used to do was sleep. Perhaps, was that a secret you were keeping from your 'friends' here, O Princess of our Parallel World?"

"Parallel world… _princess_ …?" Illya breathed out.

"Sorry" the boy rubbed his head as Miyu dropped back to the ground. "It's not my hobby to go around revealing other people's secrets, but I kinda _had_ to, given our current circumstances. I hope you'll just accept it as bad luck, and give in. I suppose you could call this your fate."

"W-What do you mean?" Illya asked.

Abruptly, Gil snapped his fingers, and a high-level barrier sprang up, just when Kiritsugu had been about to fire a shot at him. The barrier separated himself, Illya, and Miyu from everyone else.

"I've got to thank you people, as well" the boy continued. "When I was lost in the Boundary Field, you came from the 'real-number' region and found me."

Then, a gigantic arm of stone and bronze suddenly shot out from within the swirling dome of energy, and Miyu barely had time to blink before she was in its clutches.

"How violent… He's already taken over the ritual formula?"

Illya quickly leapt high, releasing a _Schneiden_ wave at the construct's wrist, but a wall of mismatched shields suddenly sprang into being all over the limb, stopping the attack cold.

"Ah, I thought so. Maybe it's because the incarnation stopped partway? It looks like most of the armor in my treasury is with that half."

Suddenly, a second arm sprang out and smacked Illya with its massive palm, slamming her down to the ground. Miyu tried to blast at the hand holding her, but had zero effect.

"You shouldn't push yourself too much" Kid-Gil said, as he began walking up a series of transparent solid-blue magic 'stairs'. "That's half of me, after all. The oldest King of Heroes, he who gathered all the Earth's treasures… I find it hard to imagine anyone having a chance of winning against that power. Honestly… The ritual to call forth that omnipotent wish-granting artifact, the Holy Grail War… It tries to use even us Heroic Spirits to do it, so it's nothing but trouble."

Now, the arm was visibly pulling Miyu into the dome, ignoring her struggles. The DDF and locals were trying to break through the outer barrier, but it wasn't giving way fast enough.

"Quit screwing around…" Illya struggled to her feet. "The one you're trying to do something to is Miyu, right?"

She cast a Chain Bind, wrapping around the limb and halting its withdrawal.

"Was Miyu… born for the Grail War, too?"

"Too?" Gilgamesh turned to her, now standing on a hardlight platform over the middle of the dome. "…Oh. You're a potential Grail Conduit for this world's Grail War, aren't you? Well, I suppose it isn't that uncommon; it's a ritual that, in some form or other, has been repeated in many different ways, in many different times, on many different worlds."

Illya tried to charge in again, but not the other hand got in her path and released a barrage of flying spears and swords; her shields held, barely, but she was forced away nonetheless.

"But," Gil continued, "Miyu-chan's kinda special. You ask if she was born for the Holy Grail War? It'd be more accurate to say… that in our world, the Grail War was created for _her_ sake. She was born as a complete version of the Holy Grail. The Cards and I were created for her sake. She is the cause, the root of everything, and the destination for it all. Natural-born, and all filled up… She's a real rarity, extremely close to the original. A human who possesses the Holy Grail's functions. Or more accurately, a Holy Grail possessing a human form and personality.

"Either way," he kept on as the Chain Binds began to fail, "she's a 'defective' irregularity born of our World itself."

As she watched Illya try to charge in only to be violently bashed away again, Miyu's long-fought-for hope… faded out.

'This is all my fault… I never should've come here… I never should have wanted anything…'

"It was… pointless… from the start…" she murmured as she was slowly pulled in, even as the Servants and DDF started hammering the barrier relentlessly, even as Illya evaded another swing and came flying in for her. Though I rejected it, fought against it, ran from it… it was pointless…"

"Miyu! Your hand!"

"This…" the broken girl held Kaleid Sapphire out, letting Illya grasp the AI-spirit's form…

"is my fate…"

…and she let go.

"Break it… Along with me. End this nightmare. I'm so sorry to have dragged you into this mess, when you weren't involved. I'm sorry I was never able to tell you. …Goodbye…"

And even as Illya fought and screamed, the point of no return was passed, and Miyu vanished into the mass of energy. A second later, the dome turned from golden-white to a sickly bluish-black.

"…Why…?"

"Just as she said," Gilgamesh replied, his voice now bearing the slightest hint of a deeper-toned echo as he began to remotely synchronize with his other half, "this was her destiny. Don't be angry at _me_ for it…" The solid dome began to crack beneath him, a rift opening. "Be angry at her fate, or at the adults who sought to use her as their tool. And take it out on this pitiful, bloated version of me that has lost all reason…"

The dome shattered, revealing an enormous, hideous black figure, looking like a living statue crossed with a demon, vaguely similar to the dreaded _Gedō Mazō_ that had been the 10-Tails' empty shell.

"What the hell is that thing?" Caster trembled. "Its energy signature… so _foul_ …"

"Ugly, isn't it?" Kid-Gil said. "Since I've been cut off from it and incarnated, I'm not on either side. But still… I think doing _this_ would be most natural. If you don't want to die, then leave the Cards and _run_."

Then, he let himself fall backward off of his hardlight platform, plummeting straight down into a pustule-like structure on the crown of the huge monster's head. The outer barrier finally disintegrated, but far too late for the other heroes to accomplish anything.

"How… can you say that?" Illya murmured. "Miyu, and that boy… are too damned _selfish_!-!"

From the crown of the creature's head, Gilgamesh's upper half emerged, now clad in spiky black armor that left only his right eye exposed. Illya Included the Berserker card, plummeting down with her Servant's axe-sword in hand. The Heroic Spirit down below simply smirked.

"A replica can't beat the original…" he spoke, his high young voice now carrying an impossibly deep demonic flanging reverb. A humongous arrow formed and shot out, branching into wave of dark magic bolts… but then Illya vanished with a puff of smoke, revealing Kaleid Sapphire as her transformation faded. Gilgamesh then returned his gaze down below, just in time to take a magic-strengthened slap from the real Illya.

"Where. Is. Miyu?" she asked.

"Inside my other half. About dead-center, I think. She's still alive. But be careful. You might end up dying here."

Multiple swords suddenly formed from the ground all around Illya's feet and rushed upward, but in an instant Berserker was there, bashing away the weapons and leaping down with his Mistress safe in his arms.

"You really think you'd know not to try taking on something like _that_ without backup" Sasuke remarked as the girl was carried over to the rest of the group.

"Still…" Kuro spoke up. "How can we get Miyu out of there?"

"She said… to destroy it… along with her…" Illya murmured, trembling. "She said this was her fate, that it didn't involve us…"

"There's no fate but what we make" Itachi replied.

"Time to crush that thing" Kiba said, pounding fist to palm. "Aim for the core!"

That was easier said than done, for now the beast chose to attack. A wave of flying swords began to rain down at its enemies, while its four massive arms struck and swung, forcing everyone to scatter. Teana formed a Stage-2 _Susanō_ and fired a large chakra arrow, but it failed to do much more than score the outer hide of the monster. Waves of magic bolts from Tiida and Caster joined energy-enhanced projectiles from Qrow's weapon's gun function and explosive arrows from Archer, while Kuro leapt onto one of the massive arms and began running & teleporting upward, forming the Overedge forms of her twin blades as she went. However, as she leapt high and prepared to toss the explosive weapons at her target, one of the massive arms came in and swatted her aside, with Assassin barely managing to catch her before she could slam into a tree.

"Kuro must be hurting…" Illya murmured. "Did Miyu feel that, too? When she fought the Berserker Card, an opponent she stood almost no chance of beating alone… Why did she?"

"…Miyu-sama told me," Sapphire spoke up, "You were her first friend."

"I see…"

"It seems that when my body gets bigger," the corrupted Kid-Gil said, "my attacks get rougher, too. Well, in that case…"

The massive monster reached a hand into the black muck that surrounded its base, and pulled out a truly enormous blade.

"…Might as well make them even rougher!"

As the blade was drawn back, Illya stepped forward.

"What are you doing?-!" Kuro shouted. "Just run!"

"I can't… There's no way in hell I can run away anymore… I finally understand what I need to do… I need… to _save… MY FRIEND!-!-!_ "

The blade swung… and snapped in half as it hit a swirling column of brilliant white light that suddenly sprang up around Illya, an enormous amount of magical power coming into existence. Everyone stopped and turned to look as they sensed and saw what was happening. After several seconds, the light faded out.

"I can't believe it…" Riku murmured.

"What… are you…?" Kid-Gil asked.

"I'm mad at you, Miyu…"

(MUSIC: _Prisma Illya 2wei Herz_ OST – " _Shoujo wa Sono Saki hé_ ")

An outfit turned to gleaming silver and brilliant white, as shining white feathers of magic floated around her.

"'Break it, along with me'?"

The Keyblade known as Counterpoint grasped in her right hand, while Ruby & Sapphire in Keyblade forms floated around & behind her.

"'I'm sorry to drag you into things when you weren't involved'?"

Six swords of Light and Holy magic fanned out behind her back like the wings of a seraph.

"Those aren't things… you say to a friend!"

Illya's eyes opened, revealing to now be a uniform glowing white, a sign of the power flowing into and through her.

"I'm gonna yank you outta there, and slap some sense into you!"

The corrupted Gilgamesh burst out into unstable laughter. "Amazing! You are truly amazing! To think I would get the chance to do battle with a power such as _this_! Very well! Let us fight for everything! For the Holy Grail!-!"

The huge beast swung one of its massive fists at Illya, but she took to the air and flew up along the limb, leaving a trail of white sparkles, while her blade-wings and the Keyblade-form Kaleid-Sticks lashed out in a whirling barrage of lightning-fast slicing strikes that bit into the dark entity's stony flesh as she flew up it. A wave of flying swords speared out from the core, but the Keyblade-form Ruby & Sapphire floated forward and cast a swarm of glowing white star-shaped Shield spells that easily stopped every last blade, giving Illya room to return fire with a blast of white light that hammered against the huge creature's body. She flitted around, leaving white sparkles in her wake, as she continued dodging attacks and returning fire.

"Is that… really Illya?" Fuuka asked, utterly amazed. "That power – so pure, and so _massive_ …"

"It's incredible…" Shirou stared in awe at his little sister as she flew and fought. "Like a warrior angel…"

"That's the 'Final Form' Drive Mode" Riku said, explaining to everyone. "What you're witnessing is the combination of a pure Heart's unconquerable strength, and the true, full power of the Keyblade! A divine power, wielding the Light of Kingdom Hearts itself, for the sake of saving her precious friend…"

Illya swung her three Keyblades to release a Triple _Schneiden_ , the waves of cutting energy – now white and much brighter & stronger – forming a six-pointed star shape as they flew in and crashed against the wrist of one of the massive arms, cutting deep. The corrupted Kid-Gilgamesh simply let out another insane little giggle and fired another wave of swords at her, but she extended her hand to form a single large crown-shaped barrier that blocked them all.

She then formed two duplicates of herself that looked to be made of solid white & pink light, the duo of ' _Hikari Bunshin_ ' engaging Gilgamesh's attention while the real Illya charged power into her Counterpoint. Just as the weapon began glowing brightly with power, one of the monster's two left arms lashed out at her, but she flew down out of the way and then zipped along the limb. When she reached the base, with a shout she swung her Keyblade, magic 'extending' the blade's cutting length, and with a flash she cleaved through the enormous limb at the base, leaving the severed appendage to crash to the ground with a ground-shaking thud.

At that point, however, a punch from the right arm not holding a (halved) sword landed home, and Illya let out a shocked cry as she was knocked back, managing to regain control and land on her feet, glaring up at the huge monster and the corrupted boy-spirit controlling it. Then, the huge monster 'half' of Gilgamesh's essence growled and called down a rain of glowing blades that carpeted the battlefield. Illya hunkered down, surrounding herself in a dome of white energy that deflected the strikes. However, a 'few' of them instead fell towards the observing group on the sidelines.

Just when Archer or one of the Uchihas was about to react, someone else beat them to it, someone unexpected. A tall, muscular man in a blue outfit with matching blue hair appeared from a 'flash step' in front of the group, and moved his long red spear in a blur of motion, striking away and deflecting every last incoming sword.

"I've been standin' back, watching and listening for a while now," Lancer said, "but I just couldn't hang back anymore, not when somethin' this big is going on." He turned to face the group. "I know the kid's super-powerful now, but against an enemy of _that_ caliber I think even she could benefit from some backup. So what're we standin' around here for? You guys gonna help take that thing down or not? The little lost 'Princess' is your friend too, isn't she?"

(MUSIC: Fhána – "Wonder Stella")

"That's right!" Kuro summoned her bow. "I'm not gonna just stand by and watch anymore! No matter what, we're getting Miyu out of there!"

"I haven't really gotten to know her that well," Shirou said, "but I know that right now Miyu-chan is suffering. I won't let that continue!"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've saved little girls from big monsters," Qrow readied his sword, "though this thing's a hell of a lot bigger than a pack of Beowolves. Ah well, the bigger they are…"

"I'm not losing the girl who has become my precious little sister" Luvia said with conviction. "Ready, Assassin?"

"You don't even need to ask" the man known as Koujirou replied, drawing his long blade.

"Right!" Teana readied her Mirage Longswords. "Let's help Illya topple this titan, and rescue Miyu!"

Sasuke made the first move, forming a Stage-2 _Susanō_ and firing a large purple chakra arrow at the darkness-clad boy at the top of the monster's head. The huge shield from before appeared and blocked the hit, but was noticeably scorched and even slightly dented from the impact and blast. Teana took to the air, joining Illya in firing a wave of orange and white mana blasts at their enemy, hitting the huge entity's face and making it flinch, thus foiling its attempt to swing one of its massive arms at Teana's younger cousin.

As another wave of swords came in, Fuuka, drew her sword from its sheathe and made a wide lightning-fast horizontal swing in a single motion (Sasuke had determined that the girl had some promise in _iaijutsu_ , and had made a note to contact Mifune for further training help just as the old samurai had been helping _him_ with it recently), showing the results of Teana's supplementary training by releasing a _Fūton: Shinkūha_ that batted the incoming weapons away and almost cut clean through some of them. Nearby, Tiida used _Doton: Dojū Tsuiga_ (土遁・土獣追牙) to form three 'Earth Hounds' and sent them charging up the body of the huge dark entity, the animated-earth constructs dodging and flowing around the sporadic attacks sent their way and lunging at Kid-Gilgamesh, who formed a shining silver blade and cut them with such force that they broke apart with the impacts.

Caster and Rin formed acceleration runes that Archer fired exploding 'arrows' through, giving them extra kinetic and explosive force as they either crashed against Gilgamesh's shield or deflected & destroyed some of the larger flying weapons the Card-Spirit sent out. Meanwhile, Kuro 'Traced' a _kama_ once wielded by Madara Uchiha, and thanks to her new power she then sent out a fairly large _Katon: Gōkakyū_ that slammed into the Gilgamesh-construct's shield, keeping it busy long enough for Itachi to come in from the side, form a Stage-3 _Susanō_ , and swing the 10-Hands Longsword at the base of the monster's lower right arm, severing the limb.

More flying swords came in at the ground-bound fighters, but Shirou 'Traced' the 'fraternal twin' swords Archer had taught him to, batting away the blades that came at him, while nearby Kuzuki used his physical-enhancement magic (gifted and taught to him by Caster) to dodge and literally _punch_ swords away from himself. Assassin defended his Mistress from incoming blades as she charged and incanted an attack spell, and then Luvia let her energies out as a wave of target-seeking magic blasts that flew up at the corrupted Card-Spirit at the top, impacting against his shield and distracting him long enough for Illya to hit him with a blast of white magic that left some visible damage on the jet-black spiky 'armor' that covered him.

The dark beast's remaining left arm wound up for a punch at Illya, but Berserker – using solid-magic runes from Caster as 'stepping stones' – quickly leapt up into the path of the limb and used all of his mighty strength to catch and stop the blow. The corrupted Kid-Gil was about to fire off a follow-up attack at the monster, only to be forced to stop and defend himself as a swarm of Shino's bugs attacked him.

Meanwhile, Kiba & Akamaru pulled a _Gatsūga_ , drilling into the joint of the monster's left arm, though failing to penetrate all the way through before their attack's energy was expended. Qrow and Saber leapt in and started slashing at the new weakness, cutting a bit deeper, until Gilgamesh blasted away the _kikaichū_ harassing him and sent a hail of swords at them, forcing them back. Then, Lancer threw his _Gáe Bolg_ at the weak point, the long red spear piercing clean through and out the other side to be caught by Lancer as he flash-stepped over into its path. The beast's limb then went limp, and Teana & Illya broke off from each other, the former calling up a Stage-2 _Susanō_ and the latter again charging a large amount of power into her Keyblade. With two mighty swings, they severed both of the huge monster's remaining limbs, the right arm's huge broken sword falling to the earth with a rock-cracking thud. Then, Illya went for the corruption-covered boy at the heart of the matter, her blade still glowing with power. He raised his 'impregnable' shield, but as she swung and thrusted the blade the long-taxed defense finally failed, the brilliant white energy blade punching through it and piercing through the armored figure's torso.

(MUSIC END)

After several seconds of silent stillness, the corrupted boy began to laugh again.

"I see… You can even break through my Divine Shield? In the case… perhaps it will come true… Will you sacrifice everything for a friend? Yes… At long last, _you_ …"

He gripped the energy blade and squeezed, dispelling it by force. And then, to the horror of those who recognized it, the melded Gilgamesh-spirit drew forth his legendary Genesis Weapon.

"…are worthy of facing _my full might!-!_ "

The segments of the proto-sword began to spin, and a truly enormous amount of magical and Void energies came forth, forming a massive, barely-contained vortex of dark red power that grew by the second, the earth beginning to shudder. Everyone else was blown back, leaving only Illya hovering. She quickly got some distance, flying high and back, looking down at the unholy amount of power gathering.

"This weapon has no name. I've simply been calling it 'Ea'. The oldest of weapons, which separated Heaven and Earth, rending Creation itself to forge the World… Can you feel the memory of creation, carved into your very DNA? It will tear you apart, along with this cradle, to initiate the Hell of Genesis!"

"…Ruby? Sapphire? There's a lot of magical energy in the air around here now, isn't there?"

"There is" Sapphire replied.

"This is it… Let's do this, just as Teana-san taught me! _Gather, light of the stars!_ "

Illya held her Keyblade forward while the Keyblade-form Kaleid Sticks and her six wing-blades joined in this, all pointing down at the monstrous enemy, and a truly massive amount of brilliant white magical power began to rapidly converge in front of her, giving off a low, bell-like sound as it quickly grew into a sphere of power that continued growing and brightening, while a large hybrid magic rune-circle formed beneath her feet. Everyone watched in awe as the two enormous powers continued to build, each one feeling like it could tear everything asunder.

" **Dro** wn in **dark** ness!"

"Vanish in the light!"

" _ **EN**_ _U_ _ **M**_ _A E_ _ **LI**_ _S_ _ **H**_ _!-_ _ **!-**_ _!_ "

" _STARLIGHT BREAKER!-!-!_ "

Two humongous waves of focused energy clashed, one of swirling tainted red & black and the other of brilliant surging silver & white. As they pushed against each other, the blinding light and gale-force wind swept across the area, forcing everyone else to brace themselves and shield their faces. The two attacks appeared evenly matched, and it was a worry that the clashing energies might eventually wear a hole in space-time itself. Then, however, Illya cried out in righteous fury as she gave her attack one more push, and there was a blinding light that encompassed everything…

…

In a dark, cold, lonely void, Miyu lay silent and still.

'I hear water… Even though there's no light or sound here… Why is this sound the only one I can hear? There's nothing but darkness… This is where I belong; the world in which I was born, as the Holy Grail…

'I am a vessel whose role is to bestow light. I need no light for myself. Yet… There were people who gave me light… gave me a place to belong… A world where I could be… human, just a little… But… that gentle lie has come to an end. The three months I spent in this world… was probably the final dream I have been granted. I couldn't escape my fate after all…'

' _I pray that you find a world where you won't have to suffer any longer._ '

'Even though he wished that for me, all I could do was escape to another world. But…'

' _I pray that you meet kind people._ '

'I did. I met some very kind people.'

' _I pray that you find friends, whom you can smile and laugh and be happy with._ '

'I did. Precious friends… One with beautiful silvery-white hair'

' _I pray that you find a warm, small…_ '

'She was like moonlight…'

'… _share of happiness._ '

'Her name was…'

Light. Pure, warm, beautiful light. She opened her eyes, and saw…

"…Illy…a…?"

At the bottom of a massive crater, as sparkles of golden magic drifted down and all around like snowflakes, Miyu looked up at her precious friend, whose shining white outfit, wings, and smile made her look like an angel straight from Heaven.

"Miyu…" her voice was calm, confident, and full of relief and kindness and warmth. "This is… the first time I've seen you cry."

That made Miyu finally notice the tears streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away, but more kept coming. Illya slowly floated down to the ground, setting foot in front of Miyu, and then knelt down and pulled the other girl into a hug as her Final Form transformation faded away, leaving her in her normal civilian clothes, exhausted but victorious. Everyone else hurried down the slope, heading over to the two girls, except for Lancer who simply smiled at seeing the battle had been won and then made his unnoticed exit. Irisviel scooped both girls up into a hug, fussing over them, while Hinata used her Byakugan to check them for injuries; other than mana exhaustion, they were both fine, the two Sticks having repaired the damage Illya had taken in the fight.

"Come on, Miyu" Illya said, she and her dear friend meeting eyes. "Let's go home."

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next Time: The heroes decide it's finally time to get rid of one of this world's major villains… Also, exactly what creatures Sakura has forged a Summon Contract with will be revealed.


	7. Assault on Matou Manor

Forgive me if I, who does not even know if the Matou Manor even _has_ a canon layout, make any grievous mistakes.

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **Three Days Later**

In the aftermath of the fight against the Eighth Card, things were quiet for a few days, but then the calm and quiet was rather rudely interrupted by a gang of Heartless attempting to attack the Emiya/Einzbern household. Saber and Illya made quick work of the little monsters before they could even successfully harm anyone, but the fact they'd be so brazen was surprising. Caster took a look at the network of sensory runes she and the DDF had placed around the city, which revealed an abnormal concentration of Heartless at the Matou Manor; that, combined with other subtle fluctuations in the city's background mana at that location, implied that the evil Matou clan patriarch was planning something.

After some deliberation, the DDF/Local coalition decided to take the initiative, and started planning an assault on Matou Manor to get rid of the threat posed by Zouken & Shinji, especially before the Heartless that were somehow at the old man's command got out of control and started _really_ wrecking things. Not everyone could come along, due to needing to keep an eye on other things, but a sizable group was going in order to make sure Zouken and whatever plots he had were thoroughly dealt with: Illya, Miyu (who insisted that she was good to go, even so soon after her recent ordeal), Kuro, Shirou  & Saber, Rin & Archer, Sakura & Rider, the Uchiha Quartet, Fuuka, Hinata, and Qrow.

Under a lightly overcast sky, the group made their way up the hills, through the empty (as common) streets of the richer district, towards the mansion that Sakura had been forced to call home until recently. As they neared their goal, stopping just outside the radios of a Matou-clan detection field that would unavoidably inform the occupants of their approach, a familiar blue-clad man leapt in from the side.

"Yo" Lancer said with a wave. "My Master may be an ass, but even he thinks Zouken Matou is a disgusting piece of scum. So, I've got free rein to help you guys take out him and those shadowy things he's got command of."

"…Why not?" Itachi – who shared Qrow's position as co-leader of this little excursion – said after a few seconds' thought. "For all we know, Zouken might have something unexpected up his sleeve. And, for future reference, the dark creatures are called 'Heartless'; we can explain in detail later."

"Or," Teana linked Cross Mirage to her Omnitool, and had it project a holo-screen giving a basic and easily-understandable description of what the Heartless were, "you can read this."

Lancer came closer and read through the description. "…I think I heard about something like these things showing up to cause a bit of trouble during the Second Grail War. The question is, how's the old man have control over them?"

"They might be the ones using _him_ ," Kuro replied, "it's happened a couple times before; they'll make someone think they have control over them, to further their own ends, and then devour that person's Heart once they're no longer useful."

"Or maybe Zouken's Heart is so black and foul that they think he's one of them?" Fuuka suggested.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough" Shirou replied.

"Lookin' forward to it" Lancer said. He then turned his gaze to Miyu. "You sure you're up for battle again so soon after what happened to you, little 'princess'?"

"I'm fine" Miyu replied. "I wasn't physically hurt, and… well, seeing Illya wielding that pure, beautiful power, and knowing she & the others had done the impossible just to save me… has made it a bit easier to deal with emotionally."

"Alright," Qrow spoke up, "let's get this show started. We don't have time to disable this detection field, so the second we cross we go in hard and fast. Let's get in there, wipe out the Heartless, and make that twisted old fucker pay for the horrible things he's done to Sakura."

- _Break_ -

As they hurriedly neared the manor, sending out a Dimension-Shift Barrier to keep the coming battle 'secret', it became clear they had already been detected, as a rather large force of Heartless was waiting for them. Saber and Illya took the lead with Excalibur and Counterpoint drawn, and the Heartless at the 'front' focused on them… leaving them unprepared for a barrage of Crossfire Shot bolts from the Lanstar siblings that came in from above & around to cut several of the dark creatures down (and, as a side note, Teana's "remedial training" was paying off; her Crossfire Shot bolts now impacted and detonated with noticeably more force than before, though not quite as much as her brother's).

Then, Illya accepted some donated power from Miyu and Kuro, and a flash of light enveloped her as she assumed the 'Master' Drive Form. When the light faded, the white parts of her outfit had turned golden-yellow, as had the tips of her cape's points and the little wings on her hairties and boots. She still held Counterpoint in one hand, while Kaleid Ruby was in Keyblade Form floating in the air just to Illya's left, moving with her. This form didn't have as much melee power as Valor Form or as much magical might as Wisdom Form, but it still took both those attributes above Illya's base state. What's more, the abilities and capabilities of Master Form made it well-suited to "crowd control", handling large groups of weaker foes. Such as the force of Heartless now barring the heroes' path.

Leading the charge into the enemy's ranks, Illya struck with whirling blades and blasting magic, taking out half a dozen in the first two seconds. Then the rest of the gang caught up, and the Heartless started dying even faster. Archer, Itachi, Qrow, and Lancer were leading the pack in terms of skills and kills, striking Heartless down with contemptuous ease and blinding speed. Kuro had 'Traced' the Master Sword and was using the divine blade (which, among other things, had the same 'evil-slaying' properties as Light-alignment Keyblades) to bring down her fair share of Heartless as well, including decapitating three Soldiers with a single Spin Attack. Fuuka mixed crushing unarmed strikes with precise and deadly hits with her sword, sticking close to her sensei or her ' _onée-chan_ ' (Fuuka and Teana were increasingly forming a big-&-little sister kind of bond).

Soon, after nearly two-thirds of their number were cut down in very short order, the remaining Heartless pulled back, retreating through shadow-portals back into the mansion to try and mount a continued defense inside. With the way clear, the heroes moved up to the front door, Teana using Mirage Shotgun to blow out the ornate door's hinges to allow Rider to easily kick the door down. They filed in, checking corners, and Rider & Sakura took the lead, guiding the rest of the group further into the mansion. A few times, Heartless tried to ambush them, but those attempts were quickly and easily dealt with.

Heading down to the basement level, they found themselves in the smaller of two large subterranean chambers that Mirage's seismic scan had detected. As Saber and Miyu began to advance first, they suddenly leapt back to avoid a slashing wave of Darkness energy that cut into the stone floor at their feet where they'd been an instant before. As everyone readied for a fight, they heard a voice chuckling lowly, and turned to see a figure slowly stepping out of the shadows, wavering black Darkness energy clinging to him, his irises now gold, and a black sword with serrated edges held low in his hand.

"Hello, insects" Shinji Matou said with a smug grin. "Welcome to your grave."

"Shinji Matou…" Archer glared, arms crossed. "You think you're a bigshot now, just because you've got a scary-looking weapon and a little power-up?"

"You have _no idea_ what you're facing now, _Servant_ " the corrupted youth hissed, his dark aura flaring up a little. "Grandfather has shared his new power with me, and with it I have become stronger than you can comprehend! I have become _perfect_! The Matou clan's disgraceful decline ends with me; at last, I have true _power_! Now, I will use it to wipe away the filth that pollutes our home… and claim what is _mine_ …"

At that last bit, he leered at Sakura and Rin, who both failed to suppress slight shudders of revulsion. Archer, Rider, and Shirou began to advance… but then Sasuke held his hand up, halting them. The Uchiha youth stepped forward, glancing back at his brother.

"I think this is a good chance to test out what we recently discovered, _nii-san_ " he said.

Understanding what his little brother meant, Itachi nodded. "Everyone hang back" he told the others. "Sasuke's got this."

"Go get 'em, _shishō_ " Fuuka told her teacher.

Shinji laughed. "Just _one_?-! So you're all going to take turns dying, huh? Well, whatever. I'll break that confidence of yours."

"You talk too much, annoying idiot" Sasuke replied in a calm, only mildly irritated tone. "Underestimating an Uchiha will be the last mistake you'll ever make."

Sasuke then 'blurred' as he flash-stepped forward, and Shinji's eyes widened as he barely brought his blade up in time to block the Uchiha's opening swing. The darkness-wielding youth then growled and began his counterattack, a flurry of strikes that showed more power, speed, and skill than had been expected from the guy who had previously been deemed a low-level threat; Sasuke actually had to put (a little) effort into dodging and blocking Shinji's attacks. He rallied quickly, though, soon matching the Matou blow for blow.

"You really think that dark power has made you strong enough to win?" Sasuke asked as he deflected a strike aimed at his neck.

"Of _course_!" Shinji replied with a near-manic grin. "No-one can insult or look down on me just because of my genes any longer. I have become more powerful than I could have ever dreamed of!"

Sasuke ducked under another strike and then knocked Shinji back with a kick to the midsection. "I assume you refer to the fact the Matou bloodline has 'decayed' over the centuries, to the point of losing nearly all of its magical ability. And rather than accept that it was time to move on and find a different path in life, you and your clan chose to cling to the past even as it slipped out from between your fingers, trying to maintain a hold on power long after the time had come to let go and move on."

" _Silence_!" Shinji swung his dark blade to release a slicing wave of dark power, which Sasuke ducked under. "You don't know anything! But you'll see. You'll _all_ see! I will obtain the power of the Grail, and together with the power from this Darkness I will lead the Matou family to conquer the magical world! Even the arch-mages of the Clocktower will fall, and I'll sit on a throne with their skulls set into it, slaves and sycophants bowing before me and serving my every need! I will be a king reigning over this wretched world!"

Suddenly, Sasuke moved forward in a blur, and Shinji dodged to the side to avoid the full blow. Instead, the edge of Sasuke's sword caught his left cheek, slicing a thin line of blood.

"You think yourself a king?" Sasuke said derisively, Sharingan slowly whirling for a moment. "Then you'd better be ready for your appointment with the guillotine."

Shinji roared out as he tossed out a few more slicing Darkness waves, but Sasuke danced around them and then lunged forward, sheathing his sword and hitting Shinji across the face with a left cross, followed by a rising knee to the gut. He went for a stomp to the shin but the Matou leapt back to dodge it, but when Shinji prepared to wind up another swing of his sword Sasuke struck first with an _iaidō_ strike; Shinji quickly brought his blade in to block the hit, and the transferred force sent him skidding back on his heels for a meter or so.

After a second's thought, Shinji willed the formation of three 'Shade Clones', pitch-black shadowy copies of himself with their own blades. In lightning-quick movements he & they first spread out and then came at Sasuke from four directions, swords leaving black afterimages as they leapt in for a simultaneous killing blow…

" _Shinra Tensei_."

A solid wave of gravitic force pulsed out from Sasuke and slammed into his four attackers, blowing them back; the three Shade Clones were destroyed, and Shinji was dazed as he landed on shaky feet a few meters away. He then had to act fast, bringing his sword up to block a single thrown kunai, the black throwing-knife bouncing off with a loud metallic clang. Shinji growled as he glared at Sasuke's calm, crimson eyes.

The two sword-wielding youths rushed in and engaged each other again, fists and feet and blades, dodging and blocking and parrying and countering. They kept at this for a good 20 seconds – practically an eternity in a fight at this speed – before Shinji managed to launch Sasuke back with a kick. The Uchiha regained his footing, sliding to a stop, and tossed forward a single _Raijū Tsuiga_. The Matou swung his dark blade through the lightning construct, and then gritted his teeth and tried not to cry out from the resulting shock. He held his palm out and fired an orb of Darkness energy, but Sasuke struck the incoming blast with his sword, cleaving it in two harmlessly, his Sharingan eyes continuing to calmly glare at his opponent.

"You won't have that iron will in your eyes after I've gouged them out" Shinji snarled, releasing a couple more slicing darkness waves. Sasuke briefly formed a Stage-0 _Susanō_ ribcage to absorb the hits, and then closed into melee range again; Shinji barely avoided an elbow to the throat, struck with a jab at the shoulder that Sasuke twisted around, and blocked Sasuke's knee with his own. He hit Sasuke in the face with the pommel of his sword, but the Uchiha rolled with the blow to minimize the impact, and came back with a roundhouse kick that nailed Shinji in the side hard enough to almost fracture a rib.

As Shinji recovered, he got a split-second glimpse of Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō eyes glaring at him before he then sidestepped to dodge another flash-step slice. He didn't quite avoid all of it, feeling the tip of Sasuke's blade slice a line across his left cheek. He lashed out with a magic-fueled kick that Sasuke blocked, being sent sliding back, and the instant Sasuke came to a halt he threw a single kunai, which clanged against Shinji's sword as he rose to block it. He returned fire with a cluster-shot of four darkness blasts, but Sasuke dodged three and cut the last one in half with his sword. He then charged in, managing to bash Sasuke across the face, but the Uchiha countered with a painful kick to Shinji's side. Snarling, the Matou released a cutting wave of Darkness, but Sasuke ducked under it and then dashed forward, a grazing blow cutting a thin line across Shinji's left cheek.

…Wait. Hadn't Sasuke already cut his cheek before?

As soon as his conscious mind brought that to his attention, Shinji was already swinging his blade wide in another attempt to take Sasuke's head. But the Uchiha leapt high to avoid it, and while in midair he threw a kunai at Shinji, who reflexively raised his blade to block it. As soon as Sasuke's feet touched ground Shinji fired another darkness blast at him, but the Uchiha's sword split it in two. Then, with a flash of nigh-untraceable movement Sasuke lunged forward, cutting a single glancing cut across Shinji's left cheek.

'What… What's happening?'

Shinji released an X-pattern pair of slicing darkness waves, but Sasuke dodged and countered with a thrown kunai, which deflected off of Shinji's hastily-raised blade. Now looking noticeably rattled, the Matou fired another pair of Darkness orbs at Sasuke, who dodged one and bisected the other.

"What is going on?" he questioned. "What… are you doing?"

"You poor fool…" As he spoke, Sasuke's voice seemed to somehow not be coming quite from his apparent position in front of Shinji. "Arrogant, pursuing power regardless of the cost, refusing to face your own shortcomings and deficiencies, denying their existence and proclaiming yourself 'perfect'… Your pride and lust for power are your undoing. You've lost, Matou Shinji. Your mind…"

A dashing strike, a narrow dodge, and a thin slice of blood across the left cheek.

"…is _mine_."

A _blocked thrown kunai_ , a blow to the gut, a dodged slash, a _bisected dark-mana blast_ , a wave of slicing darkness, a _slash across the cheek_ , a punch to the face, a rising pommel-strike, _a blocked thrown kunai_ , a clashing of swords, a backflip, a _bisected dark-mana blast_ , a lightning-hound, a parried thrust, a _slash across the cheek_ …

"You… _lose_ …"

"You… Damn you… … _UCHIHA SASUKEEEEE_!-!-!"

…

The onlookers watched as Sasuke slowly removed his hand from the forehead of Shinji Matou, who stood silent and motionless in the center of the room, his mind caught in an eternal loop.

"We recently made a discovery" Itachi announced. "For those with the Eternal form of the Mangekyō Sharingan, though Izanagi would still require the sacrifice of an eye's sight… Izanami does not."

Sasuke then fell to one knee, panting for breath, his Eternal Mangekyō fading back into normal Sharingan.

"Though," the elder Uchiha continued, "in exchange, it does seem to require quite a bit of chakra, even by our standards…"

"He only has two ways out of the loop" Tiida said. "Either he gets over himself, accepts his own flaws and limitations, realizes who he truly is deep inside… Or he fails to do so, refuses to the very end to face and accept everything about himself, and remains stuck like that until he dies from lack of food & water. It's out of our hands which one he'll end up doing; all we can do is move on and leave him be – trapped in Izanami until he either fully accepts himself, or drops dead from starvation & dehydration."

"…We should keep going" Saber spoke up. "There is still Zouken and the Heartless under his command to deal with…"

The group moved on, down a couple of corridors in this lower level. They then reached a nearly-hidden staircase going down even further, and cautiously advanced down it. At the bottom a short hallway led to a pair of large, ornate double doors. As they neared the doors, Sakura paled and began trembling, hiding behind Rider. Qrow and Archer dramatically threw the doors open, revealing a huge chamber with stone-hewn walls and filled with…

"Holy crap, that's a _lot_ of Crest Worms" Archer remarked.

Either Zouken had been busy, or the infusion of Darkness had resulted in a population explosion, for what looked like _thousands_ of the little monsters were laying and writhing about. And now, they had all taken notice of the intrusion into their lair, and began to rush at them. Teana stepped forward, and the Worms – sensing a nubile young female full of tasty magical energy – picked up the pace, flooding forward like a tsunami of violating death. However, Teana was a bit better prepared for something like this than poor Sakura had been in the past, and with a look of contempt on her face she weaved several hand-seals as Mirage projected heat shields to protect her allies close behind her, her chest puffing out as she reared back, gathering and kneading a very large amount of chakra in her lungs  & mouth… and then spitting it forward:

' _Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku_!'

An enormous rolling wave of fire surged out, rapidly filling most of the huge chamber, and the roar of the flames was joined by sizzling and screeching as the Crest Worms were roasted, incinerated, and otherwise burnt to a crisp. The awful sound continued for several seconds until falling quiet, and Teana kept the flames going for a couple seconds more just to be sure. Finally she cut her attack, and she then used some Wind magic to cleanse the chamber's air of the dangerous heat (and the stench of burnt flesh), leaving it safe to enter.

For Sakura, witnessing the deaths of the vile creatures that had tormented her so much brought a feeling of relief and liberation. As she stepped into the chamber that had haunted her for so long, finding it free of the sights, sounds, and smell of the horrible Crest Worms, it was like vindication, like she'd woken up from a long, bad dream. The group had weapons and attacks ready, but all that remained of the Crest Worms were some smears on the scorched floor & walls and a few black lumps of carbonized biomatter.

Suddenly, Lancer and Kuro brought their weapons to bear and deflected a cluster of Darkness blasts. Multiple shadow-portals opened up, and Neoshadows, Darkballs, and Invisibles emerged surrounding the heroes.

"They're distractions!" Tiida announced. "I placed an Area Search drone outside as a sentry before we went in, and it's got Zouken at ground level, trying to make a break for it! We need to get up top and outside!"

" _Kamui_ transport!" Itachi quickly shouted.

Tiida nodded, and the two elder Uchiha quickly pulled everyone else into the alternate time-space of _Kamui_. They then turned and rushed up the stairs, pursued by the Heartless, making their way back up through the manor. In a matter of seconds they were outside, and quickly chased down Zouken's fleeing energy signature. They leapt in and landed in the path of the dark mage, and quickly ejected everyone else from _Kamui_ , the whole gang surrounding Zouken with weapons drawn. A few seconds later, the Heartless caught up, forming a defensive circle around the old man as he glared hatefully at the 'heroes'.

"It's over, Zouken" Kuro said. "Time to pay for all the suffering you've caused."

"…You really think it will be that easy?" the old man replied.

He clacked his walking stick against the ground, and a short distance away two massive pools of shadow formed on the ground. From them, massive forms slowly climbed out, glowing yellow eyes looking down at the surprised heroes, jet-black bodies surging with dark power. A pair of 'Darksides', one of the largest and most powerful 'Pureblood' Heartless types, loomed over the battlefield.

"…You think you have the biggest monsters around, 'grandfather'?" Sakura asked with a surprisingly cool and confident tone, stopping to neatly cut her thumb-tip open on a tooth and start weaving a hand-seal pattern. "It's time you be proven wrong in that. Allow me to introduce you all to one of my new friends; Rider isn't the only powerful entity I can call upon! _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

She slammed her palm to the ground, the peculiar rune of Summoning forming in black script out from her hand. The earth rumbled and shook, and then everyone stared in shock as a massive creature erupted from underground. A long, wormlike body covered in natural armor plating, multiple small spindly legs held close to the body, towering around 30 meters above the ground; a head with a thick battering-ram of armor and bone, marked by a luminescent blue pattern; two large 'arms' tipped with powerful bladed spikes; a mouth surrounded by glowing blue feelers/tentacles…

"You're kidding me…" Teana murmured, wide-eyed. "A summoning contract with…"

The two Darksides stood tall, brandishing their claws and charging dark power. In response, with a screeching roar, the summoned Thresher Maw charged.

One Darkside lobbed an explosive orb of Darkness power, but the Thresher Maw twisted around the attack to avoid it and then fired a blast of its tank-melting acid. The attack struck Darkside 1 in the upper chest, knocking it back and quickly beginning to burn through. The Maw then turned its attention to Darkside 2, using one of its claws to parry a claw strike from the black monster and then putting its whole weight (which, as a 100-meter-long worm-beast, was considerable) into a tackle that knocked Darkside 2 over onto its back. The Thresher Maw pounced, using its jaws, claws, and acid to tear into the large Heartless, quickly dealing enough damage to kill it.

Darkside 1, though wounded, had managed to regain its footing and now fired a large explosive orb of Darkness. The Maw went underground, avoiding the blast, and a few seconds later lunged up from beneath the Darkside's feet, adding the force of tossed-up rock into a rising lunge that slammed into the large Heartless' torso. As the Darkside was stunned, the Thresher Maw reared back and then rammed one of its huge claws through the Heartless' face, punching out the back of its head. With a yank, the Maw tore the Darkside's impaled head right off, shoving the headless body down and then slamming the head to the ground hard enough to 'splatter' it into darkness particles.

Staring in astonished horror, Zouken turned to the 'lesser' Heartless as a last defense… only to discover that while everyone else had been distracted watching the fight, Qrow and Archer had taken it upon themselves to quickly slay the also-distracted Heartless, leaving the evil old man without any 'bodyguards'. The Matou patriarch began to call upon his dark magic, ready to fight his way out…

…and turned around just in time to be pierced through the chest by a glowing golden blade of mystical chakra, wielded by the spectral red-orange warrior construct surrounding Itachi. Zouken's body began to gradually distort, as if being pulled inwards by the blade.

"For the sins you have committed," Itachi proclaimed, "the suffering you have caused, all in your mad quest for eternal life regardless of the cost, you shall spend eternity sealed away in a realm of delirious nightmares. Vanish forever, Matou Zouken."

Zouken's decrepit, dark-magic-sustained body and twisted, wicked old black soul were pulled in, sucked into the gourd attached to the _Susanō_ 's arm, never to be seen again. Itachi dispelled his _Susanō_ , while Sakura let her summon return to its home realm, and the battlefield was at last calm and quiet.

"It's over…" Sakura said. "They can't… hurt me anymore."

Rider hugged her petite Mistress from behind, while Rin laid a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Job well done, I suppose" Lancer remarked. "Of course, the brat's still alive, trapped in that mental loop. Maybe he'll accept himself and turn over a new leaf? …Or maybe he'll starve to death. Meh, either way's good. That was actually pretty fun, working with you people. Hope we can do it again sometime."

"I'm afraid that won't be happening."

Everyone went on alert at the sudden new voice from nowhere, a deep and imposing baritone. Then, a Corridor of Darkness opened nearby, and from it emerged a man, tall with black hair and an impressive chin, his muscled body clad in a dark shirt & pants beneath an open midnight-blue coat, a tiny golden cross hanging from a thin chain around his neck. His aura, his energy, felt cold and dark.

"Who… is this?" Shirou asked.

Archer glared, summoning his twin swords. "Kotomine Kirei…"

Lancer sighed. "What do you want, Master?"

The rest of the gang were surprised; not only was the man identified as one of their main enemies now right in front of them, he was Lancer's master?

"You have all done well in disposing of that wretch Zouken" he told them. "The old fool thought the Heartless obeyed him, but they were merely using him to further their own goals, as they have done to others in the past. Eventually they would have deemed his usefulness exhausted and consumed him."

"And what makes you think you're different?" Tiida asked.

"I am limiting my usage of the Heartless as much as possible. Though, even if I were not, I may have a greater resistance to them. After all, my heart is one of pure Darkness, forged for me by the Holy Grail after Kiritsugu mortally wounded me 10 years ago. Of course, this refers to the blood-pumping physical heart rather than the core of one's being that the Heartless crave to devour, but _that_ Heart of mine is also one of darkness, enough that the creatures obey me and allow me to use the Corridors of Darkness… though I am, of course, being careful nonetheless."

"So what are you doing here?" Qrow asked. "Gonna start monologuing about your 'Evil Plan'?"

Kirei chuckled. "Not this time. You all did well disposing of that wicked old soul, but… well, I'm afraid having you lot running around unaccounted for is too much of a risky unknown for my tastes." He then held his hand up, pulling his sleeve back to expose the elaborate markings on it. "Servant Lancer, by the Command Seal I order you: kill them all."

One of the symbols on Kotomine's arm flared bright. Lancer let out a surprised grunt, a teeth-gritted frown forming on his face, as his body moved independently of his will, taking a combat stance facing the DDF/Local group. Kotomine vanished through another Dark Corridor, and Lancer went on the attack.

"Damn you, honorless dog!" Lancer called out at his retreating master even as his body charged at Rider with spear ready. Saber and Archer moved to intercept and engage, the three Servants moving with incredible speed as they sliced, thrusted, swung, blocked, parried, and dodged. After several seconds he managed to knock them both back and immediately charged at Hinata and Miyu, but this time it was Tiida and Sasuke who got in his way, the former wielding Aster's energy blade and the latter his straight-sword as they met his blood-red lance's strikes with their own.

Lancer abruptly leapt back instead of trying to block a swing of Sasuke's lightning-shrouded blade, thus avoiding Tiida's hidden attack that would have gotten him if he'd stayed to counter Sasuke. Kuro and Qrow moved in next, keeping Lancer from mounting an offensive; the veteran Hunter was actually breaking even with the melee-specialized Servant all on his own in terms of speed and skill, with Kuro's assistance enabling the two of them to actually push Lancer back. Lancer swung his staff wide, Qrow & Kuro leaping back to dodge, and now Teana and Illya took their place, Mirage Longswords and Keyblade ready.

And as they watched the rapid battle, one young mage and her 'partner' had a plan.

After getting around the two girls, Lancer came at Shirou, but Sasuke and Fuuka got in his way, master and student fighting in sync against the Seal-controlled warrior. After about 20 seconds of exchanging blows, Lancer leapt back, and took a familiar stance with his spear, which surged with red energy.

"I can't stop it…" he growled. "God-damned fallen priest… Sorry about this!" He charged at Sasuke. " _Gáe_ _Bo-_ "

"Rule Breaker!"

Suddenly appearing in Lancer's path, Miyu thrusted the crooked dagger that Kaleid Sapphire had transformed into, piercing the blue-clad Servant's chest. It did not draw blood; instead, it attacked on a magical level, piercing and severing only what Miyu wanted it to: The Master-Servant connection between Lancer and Kotomine.

There was a wave of magical energy released from Lancer's body, and he stopped as he finally regained control of his own body. He took a deep, slow breath, and then smiled.

"Thanks, kiddo" he said. "Damn glad to be free of that heartless cur."

"You were being forced to betray and try to kill people you consider allies. I couldn't let that continue. I'm just glad I could help. I hope you can find a more worthy Master, now that you've been freed of Kotomine."

"…I think I already have" he rested a hand on her head. "They called you a 'princess from a parallel world', right? Well, what princess doesn't have a fearsome and gallant knight to protect them?"

She looked up at him, astonished and questioning, and he nodded. They both then felt the unique magical bond being formed between them, as the Rule Breaker redirected and retied the severed bond before then returning to Card form.

"Let's head back," Sasuke said, "let everyone else know that Zouken is dead, Shinji Matou is out of the picture… and our team has one more member."

After a few seconds, Miyu nodded, and Lancer grinned at her.

"Lookin' forward to fighting alongside you… little Mistress."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

In a shadowed, battle-scarred cavern, two figures walked. One of them tread upon a card that lay on the ground; the card disappeared, and the figure was enveloped in shining gold armor…

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next Time: _3rei_ (what of it we can do, anyway)


	8. 3rei

I'm afraid I'll be skipping, shortening, or summing up some parts, in order to not take _too_ long to write the chapter.

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **Two Days Later**

Things were again calm and quiet after the assault on Matou Manor and the unexpected battle that followed. The fact that Kotomine had some limited control over Heartless was worrying, but at least he no longer had a Servant. Lancer seemed to be integrating well enough, his and Miyu's (platonic) bond quickly strengthening; he even tried to cut back his boisterous attitude a little when she was around, not wanting to overwhelm or annoy the quiet, reserved girl.

Training continued for many. Shirou was proving a quick learner, to the point where he could now reliably 'Trace' simple weapons. He was also working on trying to summon a mysterious shining sword he'd been seeing in his dreams… Incidentally, he was becoming increasingly close with Sakura… and Rin… and Saber, too. Sakura was training to put her very large mana and chakra reserves to good use, learning offensive, defensive, and support techniques; she seemed to have an almost 'hunger' for knowledge and new skills. Rider had finally been provided with a visor and a pair of innocuous-looking glasses, both of which allowed her to see and still control her Petrifying Gaze.

On this day, however, Rin & Luvia had found 'something unusual', and were taking Illya, Miyu, Kuro, and Fuuka as a DDF representative along to investigate. Everyone else, including the Servants, was busy handling other business (except Berserker, who was sleeping to regain some energy after soloing a Form-3 Iron Imprisoner yesterday, and Illya had decided to let him rest rather than wake him up and drag him along for a simple recon mission). As they rode along in Luvia's limousine, they learned the startling and confusing fact: the crater left behind by their clash against the Card-Spirit of Gilgamesh had vanished, leaving a field of dense trees and intact ground in its place.

After getting as close as they could by car, they went the rest of the way on foot, making their way through the trees. When they arrived, they found someone slightly unexpected waiting.

"Bazett?" Rin quickly masked her surprise. "Have you learned anything?"

"Nothing detailed at the moment" the suit-clad woman replied.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble and glow, in a huge circle. Bazett quickly leapt back to the others' position. As distorted light surged and wind howled, the entire area shifted into something else: the crater left behind by the earlier battle. But among the swirling dust, there were two figures: a tall blonde woman wearing a somewhat skimpy set of golden armor that bared flesh marked by red lines, and a shorter girl with red hair, one enlarged arm hefting a huge war-hammer. The redhead looked up at the group, a fanged grin on her face… and Miyu's face now showed an expression of pure, utter terror.

" _RUN!-!_ " she suddenly shouted to the others, startling them.

The hammer-wielding redhead charged in, letting out a joyful whoop as she leapt high and then brought her hammer down. Miyu, already transformed, had a shield up to block the hammer. But the redhead grinned viciously, and Miyu's shield shattered. The dark-haired girl let out a cry of pain as Kaleid Sapphire was sent flying upward by the force, her transformation coming undone as she was sent flying. As she was in midair, a length of golden chain from the other girl wrapped around her, dragging her closer and into a hard landing.

Illya took to the air, flying and firing energy blasts at the gold-clad woman, while Kuro and Fuuka charged at the hammer-wielder. The woman in gold somehow conjured a spear, shooting out of a briefly-formed shimmering gold portal, forcing Illya to take evasive action, spinning around the incoming projectile and then firing a return shot, only to see it dissipate against the woman's casually-raised barrier. Meanwhile, the red-haired hammer-wielder used her massive hammer and enlarged arm to block and parry the two girls' rapid sword strikes, moving with more speed than the bulk of her limb and weapon would suggest. She let out a deranged little giggle and slammed her hammer into the ground, releasing a shockwave of power that knocked Kuro & Fuuka away and sent up shrapnel of the exposed rock, one chunk almost hitting a crow that was speedily flying overhead.

Using one of her new tricks, Illya had Kaleid Ruby form two oddly-shaped 'blades' from her wings to create a double-headed axe of magic blades. Unfortunately, this proved incapable of overpowering the gold-clad woman's shields or barriers, unable to even get her to release her other hand's grip on the chain restraining Miyu. She then lashed out with a kick that sent Illya hurtling back, feeling like that one blow had almost ruptured something.

Suddenly, the gold-armored woman's look of impassive, stoic disdain flickered to surprise for an instant, and she threw herself forward. She let out a cry of shocked pain as a flash of blood erupted from a slash across her back, from the sword wielded by Qrow as he made his presence known. The woman leapt back a couple of meters to dodge his follow-up swing, conjuring and firing a sword at him only to see him bat it away with his own weapon one-handed. The redhead took notice, and showed off another shark-like grin at the prospect of a real challenge. Sensing the power levels of these two, Qrow promptly triggered his weapon's transformation into its true form, a tall and wicked-looking scythe.

The hammer-wielder went for Qrow, occupying his attention with an intense duel; he had more raw speed than her overall, but she was still able to move fast enough to dodge or block his blows and keep him moving to respond to her counterattacks. Bazett then joined in, helping the veteran Hunter. Meanwhile, the gold-armored woman had barely any time to try recovering from the wound Qrow had dealt before Illya and Fuuka double-teamed her, while Rin & Luvia provided supporting fire to both pairs.

Then, the earth began to rumble, and the sky began to crack. The gold-armored woman leapt back from Illya & Fuuka, a pull of her chain hoisting Miyu up to land over her shoulder. At the same time, the hammer-user slammed her weapon into the ground, releasing a shockwave that knocked Qrow and Bazett back, and she then leapt over to the gold-armored one's position. A brilliant light enveloped the entire area of the crater, and before anyone could react a blinding flash enveloped everyone and everything. The last thing Illya saw before passing out as Miyu looking at her pleadingly as she was carried away…

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-6**

"…ya… Illya… Illya-chan, get up…"

With a soft groan, Illya came to. Her eyes fluttered open, seeing Fuuka kneeling over her, concern in the brunette's eyes. Slowly, the white-haired girl sat up, and immediately noticed that the air was much colder than it should be. Looking around, she found herself still in the crater from the Gilgamesh-Card fight, but now there was a layer of snow over most of the ground.

"…How long was I out?" she asked. "Did someone use magic to mess with the weather, or have I actually been out cold through the rest of summer and fall?"

Fuuka shook her head. "I don't think we're in your home Realm anymore, Illya. I think… we got pulled through. Into the world that the Class Cards and Miyu came from."

That sent a chill through Illya's heart to match what she was feeling in her skin. "Where are the others?"

"No idea. I think everyone – including the Kaleid Sticks, since there's no sign of Ruby – got thrown all over the place in the 'jump'. You and I are the only ones that ended up here, in the crater. Can you stand?"

With only a bit of difficulty, Illya got to her feet, Fuuka ready to support her if needed. The two girls then made their way up out of the crater, and then slowly, cautiously through the snow and bare trees. They crested the hilltop which would give them a view of the entirety of Fuyuki city… and Illya gasped in astonished horror. In the center of the city was a truly massive crater, and there were no signs of life in the surrounding city visible from up here.

"What the hell happened?" Fuuka breathed out. "The surrounding town's way too intact for that to have been from a meteor or an orbital strike or anything like that, and an underground explosion, like from natural gas or methane or whatever, wouldn't leave a crater that regular and circular…"

"Come on" Illya started down the hill. "We need to see if we can find anybody who can tell us anything."

- _Break_ -

Unfortunately, as the duo moved through the city they found no signs of any people; it was like a ghost town. Even going to where Illya's house was in her home 'world' revealed only a vacant empty lot in this world. At this point, the weight of everything caught up to Illya, who collapsed down on her knees, tears building in her eyes. Fuuka laid a hand on the white-haired girl's shoulder, trying to think of something to say…

…Only to be interrupted by a mid-teen girl wearing a school gym shirt & bloomers running in from out of nowhere, slipping on a patch of snow, and faceplanting right onto the two girls.

The ensuing meeting was strange, to say the least. The girl seemed very flighty and childish, showed absolutely no signs of feeling cold despite being in such an exposed outfit in this snowy weather, and – most curious of all – she seemed to have amnesia, not really understanding much of anything. Judging by the _kanji_ written on her shirt, her name was 'Tanaka' (though considering she seemed to be amnesiac, this may not have even been _her_ gym outfit, but they decided that this was what they had to work with for now). She took a quick liking to them both, however, despite claiming they seemed 'kinda dumb' to be wearing such clothing in this weather (Illya: "I don't wanna hear that from _you_!") For now, the trio headed to a nearby children's park, taking refuge from the snow inside one of the climbing spaces there.

"How did it come to this?" Illya wondered. "If only we knew where Miyu was, at least…"

"…Miyu's been captured by the Ainsworth family" Takana suddenly replied. "I heard she jumped to a parallel world, but she's come back. Or rather, she was _taken_ back."

"Wait" Fuuka said. "You know Miyu?"

"And how do you know about the parallel worlds?" Illya added.

"I… I don't know. I don't know how or why I know those things, or what they really mean. Those words came out on their own. What is this memory?"

"Please try to remember more! It's super-important!"

"Ainsworth… What is it about that name…? I've almost got something…"

"Found you~"

The trio froze, turning to look, and seeing the shark-fanged grin of the enemy redhead.

"Hm? _Three_ intruders? Meh, I guess that's cool. Why don't you kiddies come on outta there? I won't bite~…"

"Tanaka-san, go out the back way and run for it" Illya said, reaching back to tap the shoulder of the strange girl without looking… and finding empty air. She turned back to look, finding the space empty… and then turned to look at their enemy just in time to see Fuuka grab hold of Tanaka's shirt as she tried to cheerfully run to the redhead.

"Hi, there!" she waved to the surprised enemy. "I'm Tanaka! Who are you? Where are we?"

"B-Bloomers?-!" the redhead was shocked. "You some kinda pervert? Or just someone with a death-wish who wants to find out what hypothermia's like?"

"Amnesia" Fuuka replied, glaring at the older girl. "She's got no clue about anything. And no, we don't know how she isn't freezing her tits off in this cold, either."

"…Well, whatever. Anyways…"

She pulled out a Class Card and then 'Included' it, forming a huge armored right arm. She then lunged at them fist-first, and the trio dove out of the way as the redhead kept going and demolished the structure they'd been hiding in. Growling, Fuuka wove a quick hand-seal sequence:

" _Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu_!"

The redhead brought her enlarged arm up to block, letting the fireballs splash against it. When she lowered it, she saw Fuuka taking a stance, winding up, one hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword.

"There are five core elements that people can convert their energies into," the brunette said to her, "each with a 'type advantage' against another. You use Lightning, I remember… Lightning beats Earth, Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire, Fire beats Wind, and… Wind beats Lightning! _Shinkūha! Shinkū Taigyoku_!"

Simultaneously, she spat out a cannonball of compressed air while drawing and swinging her sword to release a slicing vacuum wave. They crashed against the red-haired enemy… who barely had a scratch on her, to Fuuka's shock.

"Maybe," the girl said with a fanged grin, "but type advantage don't mean shit when there's a big gap in power-levels."

The girls retreated for now, fleeing the park and running down the street. Suddenly, however, the redhead used her enlarged arm to pick up and throw a damned _car_ , landing right in their path and cutting off their escape.

"Oh, come on" she said. "You losers have totally no fight in you."

They turned to look, and she was carrying an entire telephone pull effortlessly, its weight making her footsteps shake the ground and crack the asphalt beneath. Fuuka drew her blade, taking a defensive stance. Then, however, Tanaka stepped forward, looking at the enemy.

"If you don't know who I am, then… Who are _you_?"

"I…" the girl's demeanor changed again, taking a pose straight out of a pop-idol. "I'm Beatrice Flowerchild! The Ainsworth Clan's supremely beautiful doll!"

Then, she swung her makeshift club down… and Fuuka leapt up, wreathing her sword in Lightning chakra, and sliced it in two. Beatrice stared, mildly shocked, as the upper half of her 'weapon' tumbled through the air and landed harmlessly on the other side of the car/barricade.

"Lightning chakra can enhance a bladed weapon's cutting power" the brunette explained. "Someone like you, who prefers blunt brute-force weapons, can't take advantage of that like I can."

Beatrice snarled, preparing to charge, but suddenly stopped, putting one hand to her ear and looking off to the side.

"What?-! But I was just at the good part! …Yeah, that's true, but… Damn it. Okay, okay, I get it."

She dispelled her Class Card, catching it from the air and pocketing it.

"I gotta run now" she shouted as she began roof-jumping away. "Next time we meet, I'll definitely reduce you people to bloody smears on the ground!"

"…So" Tanaka spoke up after a few seconds. "Shall we get going?"

"Huh?" Illya turned to her. "Tanaka-san?"

"Illya-san, Fuuka-san, you're searching for Miyu, right?"

"Yeah" Fuuka replied. "That girl was one of the people who kidnapped Miyu. We gotta get her back."

"Then I'll come with you!"

"S-Sure," Illya said as the trio started walking, "but why?"

"My role, my task, is to eliminate the Ainsworth family."

"W-What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know. I still don't remember much, except for one thing… I must destroy the Ainsworth family. For whatever reason, that's all I can remember."

"…Then let's go. Where are they?"

"…I have absolutely no idea."

"Right… Amnesia…"

- _Break_ -

The trip further into the city proved mostly uneventful, until Tanaka abruptly collapsed from hunger. Fortunately, this happened right outside what must have been the sole inhabited restaurant in the whole district. There was a bit of fright when it turned out to be run by the alternate-universe Kotomine Kirei, but he made them food regardless. …Except that food turned out to be 'mabo tofu', so absurdly hot and spicy that Fuuka took one look at it and immediately pulled out a ration bar she'd been carrying and ate it instead ("I grew up in a poor orphanage; I can handle eating bland crap if I have to"). Unfortunately, she only had the one, so Tanaka and Illya were forced to choke down the infernal 'meal' instead.

And then, the man had unexpected charged them an exorbitant fee for the 'generous' meal, but none of the trio had any money on them (well, Fuuka had some Midchildan Credits, but those were obviously no good here). Just when it seemed the store owner was going to enact violent retribution on 'freeloaders', the girls were bailed out by a most unexpected savior.

"Good grief…" Kid-Gilgamesh remarked, leaning against the wall. "What are you doing, acting like that after I just paid your bill?"

"W-Well," Illya said from her & Tanaka's position behind a telephone pole, while Fuuka had her sword out and ready, "you're our enemy, right? You're the Heroic Spirit of that Card, so you're after Miyu."

"…How uncouth. Bringing _that_ up, again, even after you won? That 'Starlight Breaker' of yours hurt like Hell… Besides, I was just following the will of my 'dark' half. I, personally, have no reason to oppose you."

"Why are you alive, anyway?"

"You only blew up my 'dark' self. So, while I was wandering that mountain searching for something, I was accidentally swept up in the Dimensional Dislocation. And before I knew it, I was here. So…"

He leaned forward with a big, adorable, innocent smile on her face. "Let's get along from now on, _Onée-chan_."

To Tanaka and Fuuka's surprise, Illya reacted like her heart had been pierced through, a blush flaring to her cheeks as she trembled in a brief, cuteness-struck daze.

"W-W-Well, in that case, I-I guess I don't see any reason for hostility" she tried to play it cool. And you did bail us out just now, so I s-suppose it wouldn't hurt to show a _little_ gratitude…"

The blonde boy giggled. "Do people ever tell you you're easy to handle? …By the way, who's the redhead?"

"I'm Tanaka! Who are you? What do you do?"

"You're asking like someone translating a foreign language" He was still smiling.

"She claims to have amnesia" Illya explained.

"Hm… Well, for now you can call me 'Gil'. I'm enjoying life in modern times right now. Still, a girl with amnesia, huh? I have knowledge of this era I've been summoned to, and about the Ainsworth Clan, but I don't know anything about you, Tanaka-san."

"You know the Ainsworth clan?" Fuuka asked.

"Know them? I was summoned by the Class Cards they created. They're the ones causing the Holy Grail War in this world, using Miyu as their Grail."

"I'll destroy them" Tanaka suddenly interjected. "I exist to destroy the Ainsworth Clan."

"We need to rescue Miyu!" Illya added. "Please, if you know where she is, tell me!"

After a second, Gil chuckled. "You girls really are out there. Destroying the Ainsworth Clan and rescuing Miyu are practically the same wish. But how will you achieve that? You have your Keyblade, I presume, but where did your Kaleid Stick go? Will you go in there without that power available to you? That would be marching to your death. That sounds… like it'll be a blast!"

"…Huh?"

"Let's go! Well, it's not as if I don't have business with them, too."

"You'll guide us?"

"You should be grateful to this dull, boring city. Otherwise, I'd never be struck by such a whim. We each have our own objectives, but we're all headed to the same place. The Ainsworth atelier is in the center of the crater, hidden by a complex optical illusion. But I can get you girls through that. Come on! …But first, I think I should get you girls some warmer clothes before you freeze. Between Illya- _onéechan_ 's miniskirt and sleeveless top, Fuuka- _néechan_ 's short-shorts, and Tanaka- _néesan_ 's gym outfit, I'm surprised none of you have frostbite yet."

- _Break_ -

The trip down into the crater was made easier – and slightly sillier – by a mystical cloth that resister all forms of visual or magical detection… and was held by the quartet in a way similar to how preschoolers would hold onto a rope as they were led somewhere by a caretaker. Nonetheless, it got them inside the barrier, revealing a decent-sized castle inside a pocket of verdant greenery and clear blue skies.

After coming terrifyingly close to being discovered by the tall blonde-haired woman, they slipped in through the door she'd come out of, making their way down stairs and into a basement area of sorts. On the far side, there was a door with heavy locks and seals on it.

"There's someone in there" Tanaka pointed.

Dropping the cloak, Illya ran over to the door. "Miyu? Are you in there, Miyu?-!"

"…Who's there?" a male voice answered from within. "You people aren't Ainsworth. Do you all… know Miyu?"

"I'm Miyu's friend. We came to rescue her!"

"…Her friend?" There was a barely-audible sound, like dripping water. "I see… She got her wish… …I'm Miyu's older brother."

"Why are you locked up here?" Fuuka asked.

"Because I failed. I fought the Ainsworth Clan to get Miyu back from them. And I managed to free Miyu from this world. But… They went after her, and dragged her back here again… Even after everything she and I have been through, she couldn't escape the chains of her fate!"

"Her… fate?" Illya asked.

"I know… that I'm the worst kind of evil. But please… I _beg_ you. Save my sister!"

"…I don't really know anything about 'fate'. Miyu never told me about her past, and I didn't know Miyu was in the grip of something this big. The Miyu I know has trouble chatting, and her expressions are hard to read. So, at first, I was a little scared of her. …But I understand now. Miyu's just… really awkward, that's all. Her feelings are hidden behind her clumsy expressions. When I told her I wanted us to be friends, she risked her life living up to those words. I still don't know much about 'fate' or what's what in this world, but that's reason enough for me. She's my friend, so I'm gonna save her. If anyone wants to make Miyu unhappy, I'll stop them no matter what!"

She could hear a soft sob. "Thanks to you… half of my wish has already been granted…"

"And, she and I… have another connection… The Holy Grail War exists in my 'world', too. It was created a few centuries ago, by a magus clan called Einzbern. …My name is Illyasviel von-Einzbern. And… I was meant to be a conduit for the Greater Grail's power."

The youth inside let out a startled gasp.

"So, more than friends… I suppose you could say that Miyu and I are… parallel-world versions of each other."

"…Is the War happening in your world, too?"

Illya nodded. "10 years ago… mama and papa wiped out the rest of the clan to keep them from using me as a vessel, to give me the chance of a normal life. Then, they sabotaged the leylines to keep the war from happening again. But… recently, someone repaired the leylines and restarted the Grail War, just to see the chaos that would unfold. The Einzbern Grail War, rather than channeling the power of Heroic Spirits from the Throne of Heroes via the Class Cards, actually calls in 'copies' of the Spirits themselves, to fight as seven 'Servants' for seven magus 'Masters'. They're supposed to fight each other for the Grail.

"…But, right now, all seven Masters are allies, and they & their Servants have united to find a way to fix things… and maybe find a way to deal with the corruption that infected our world's Grail at the end of the Third War. 10 years ago, at the end of the Fourth War, the corruption escaped and caused a terrible fire, and only one person survived. My parents, Irisviel von-Einzbern and Kiritsugu Emiya, rescued that lone survivor and adopted him: my _onii-chan_ , Shirou."

Inside, Miyu's brother could barely breathe from shock, as he tried to digest those revelations. This girl had no idea just how strong the parallels between her and Miyu were…

"Right now… Kuzuki-sensei is the Master of Caster Medea; Rin-san, my 'mentor'. is the Mistress of the Archer called 'Counter Guardian Emiya', some alternate-future version of my brother; Luvia-san, a magus about my brother's age who pretty much took Miyu in as a little sister, has the Assassin 'Sasaki Koujirou'; Sakura- _onéesan_ has Rider 'Medusa'; I'm the Mistress of Herakles, the Berserker; _onii-chan_ has the Saber named Artoria; and… the Lancer, Cú Chulainn, was originally under the control of an evil man, but we freed him using the Caster Card's Rule Breaker, and he chose to become Miyu's Servant instead. …They didn't make the trip with us, so he's probably pacing a hole in the floor worrying about her by now. And I don't wanna think about how Berserker is reacting to knowing I'm in danger but not being able to be by my side and protect me…"

One shocking revelation after another for Miyu's brother… Heroic Spirits themselves, called from the Throne of Heroes; Miyu becoming the 'Master' of one of the most powerful and skilled Lancers in the entire Throne…

"Right" Fuuka took a step forward. "Let's break this lock and get this guy outta here."

"I wouldn't try that" Gil laid a hand on her shoulder. "There's some pretty strong magic on that lock. Besides, we don't know what traps are-"

Suddenly, he lunged forward, throwing up a glowing blue shield-rune just in time to block a high-speed projectile blade that had been aimed at Illya, startling her.

"Well, _that_ was close" he remarked. "Don't you know ambushes are for commoners?"

"Tell me how you infiltrated us" the tall blonde woman in revealing gold armor demanded as she strode out from the shadows. Upon closer inspection, there was a bandage affixed to her back – the wound Qrow dealt had not fully healed.

"I have rather mixed feelings right now about facing off against that visage…"

"If you won't answer…" the woman opened several glowing golden portals, from which emerged multiple swords of varying size & shape "…then I'll kill you all, one by one."

"Sorry, Illya-san" the boy said with a smirk. "That right there is _my_ objective."

"Run, Illya-chan!" Miyu's brother shouted. "That woman's too dangerous!"

" _How_ can we run?" the girl asked, slowly backing away.

"Tell me your objective and how you infiltrated us" the woman demanded again. "You have three seconds to comply."

Illya took Tanaka's hand and tried to run, and the woman fired a blade at her… only for Gil to step into its path and open his own golden portal, absorbing the weapon. He stepped forward, and the woman fired several more blades only to see them vanish into the boy's matching golden portals as well, as he regarded her with a calm smirk.

"That makes twelve…" he remarked. "A drop in the bucket compared to the total number, but… thanks for giving them back to me."

"What's going on?" Tanaka asked.

The woman glared near-emotionlessly at him. "You're…"

"The Gate of Babylon…" Gil started. "It contains countless Noble Phantasm originals, and launches its inexhaustible supply like javelins and arrows. That Noble Phantasm is a treasure itself."

"The world's oldest hero… Gilgamesh…"

"How does using my Card feel, Angelica Ainsworth?"

"I see. So, you incarnated…"

"You catch on quickly. Though, I only incarnated halfway."

"That makes sense. The reason some of my treasure disappeared is because it was divided between us."

"Where is Miyu?" Illya strode forward, glaring at Angelica. "That's all I want to know right now. Tell us where Miyu is!"

"And what will you do with that information?"

"Miyu is in the center of the castle," Miyu's brother called out from his cell, "on the top floor of the highest tower!"

"…Knowing that won't change a thing. The four of you are going to die, here and now."

She slowly walked toward them, opening numerous golden gateways.

"Illya," Gil handed her the concealment cloak, "when I give the signal, hide in that cloak and run."

"But… what about you?"

"Didn't I say? My objective is that Card of me she's using. You three go do what you need to do. …Go!"

He took off his necklace and threw it forward, the charged mana releasing like a flashbang. In that moment, Illya took hold of Tanaka & Fuuka and roped the concealment cloak around all three of them, as they made a hasty exit.

- _Break_ -

From there out, things… didn't exactly go as planned. Not only did they lose the concealment cloak, but they ended up in a huge room full of 'junk' weapons instead of the castle's main foyer. And Beatrice was waiting for them. However, by sheer chance, Illya happened to come across Kaleid Ruby amongst the various weapons, transforming and Including the Caster Card, unleashing its full magical might against the berserker girl.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Beatrice, despite taking a couple hits (including a Wind-enhanced slice from Fuuka that actually drew blood), proved to have enough raw power to bulldoze right through Caster-Illya's strongest attacks and toughest defenses, smashing her through a wall right into where Gil and Angelica were still battling. Though, Gil seemed to have gotten the upper hand, reclaiming many of his weapons and even his Divine Chain Enkidu. However, looking at the situation – Illya outmatched and defeated, Fuuka exhausted and injured, and Tanaka barely conscious after taking a point-blank blast from Beatrice… which, bizarrely, left her apparently totally uninjured (to Beatrice's open astonishment)… they chose a tactical withdrawal for now. They made their way out into the courtyard and then outside the barrier… but not before Illya looked up at the top of the tallest tower, and – just barely – was able to see Miyu looking down at her.

"Illya-san," Gil asked as the quartet ran across the dead ground of the crater, "where's the concealment cloth?"

"I lost track of it in the fight against Beatrice" the white-haired girl replied. "It's gone!"

"Damnit, this looks bad… We've got no cover for the next kilometer or so."

"That's what this landscape is for!" Beatrice shouted out as she threw her massive hammer.

Gil formed Enkidu into a shield, deflecting the thrown hammer, which whirled through the air and returned to its wielder.

"Get a clue, already" she remarked as she and Angelica advanced together. "You can't escape. Sorry 'bout earlier; since we were indoors, I shot one off without lightning…"

She held her hammer high, and black clouds swirled above. Purple lightning streaked down, striking and infusing into the huge weapon.

"But this time… I'll be sure to _break you!-!_ "

"Ruby! Full shield and defensive reinforcement!"

"It's no good!" the Kaleid Stick replied. "Nothing we have can withstand that much power!"

With a demonic grin, Beatrice began to swing her hammer… and a high-velocity arrow flew in, stuck into the weapon, and exploded with great force. Before the dust had even settled, Beatrice threw herself to the side to dodge a supersonic high-caliber round that would've blown her brains out, and then backflipped to avoid another exploding arrow. The deep 'crack' of a high-powered rifle echoed through the area, the timing putting it to the second, non-arrow shot.

"It's _that_ Card…" Angelica remarked.

Snarling, the redhead began charging even _more_ power into her hammer, ready to-

' _Stand down, Beatrice._ '

At the mysterious man's voice, echoing from nowhere, Beatrice frowned as she let her hammer drop, dispelling its accumulated charge.

' _You shouldn't disturb a lady's homecoming._ '

With a scoff, Beatrice turned and started marching back towards the barrier hiding the castle, Angelica following.

"It's wide-range magic-based telepathy," Kaleid Ruby said, "projected from a distance."

"Listen carefully to this voice, Illya-san" Gil said. "That is…"

' _Forgive the delay in my introduction. I am Darius Ainsworth, head of the Ainsworth family._ '

"…your true enemy."

' _My servants were rude to you. They meant no harm. Please forgive them. And now, farewell, Illyasviel._ '

"…Let's go, Illya-san. Staying here won't-"

"Even if I'm no match now…" Illya said, a trembling voice, as she stared at the hidden castle. "Even if I can't yet… Soon… I _will_ save you, Miyu… Miyu isn't your tool! Someday soon, you'll all _pay_ for what you've done to her!"

- _Break_ -

Their saviors turned out to be Kuro, Bazett, and Qrow (who'd found a 'mundane' sniper rifle somewhere; the second of the three shots had been his), who revealed that they had 'arrived' a few days before Illya & Fuuka. The group returned to the abandoned school that Kuro, Bazett, & Qrow had been using as a base, and filled each other in on what they could while trying to figure out what to do next. They were particularly concerned not only about having no idea when the Ainsworths might try to 'use' Miyu, but also in that Angelica had Gilgamesh's Card, while Beatrice wielded the Card-Spirit power of Thor; how had they confined the power of a Divine Spirit as a Servant-analogue?

Looking at their circumstances, Bazett reluctantly returned the Rider, Lancer, and Saber cards to Illya. Meanwhile, by some divine coincidence there was some still-unspoiled food in the cafeteria, which Qrow was able to make into something palatable for everyone to eat. But Illya's heart was wavering, full of worry, unease, and insecurity over their situation. So Kuro chose to help her…

…by challenging her to an epic Card-using duel on the rooftop, revealing in the process that she'd managed to counter and remove her 'shared-pain' seal. Fortunately, not only was Illya able to realize what Kuro was trying to teach her, but Kuro got off with nothing worse than a few new bruises and magical exhaustion (the latter of which she quickly used Illya to rectify in the 'usual' way).

The next morning, Illya found a very unexpected guest who'd come to the abandoned school: a little girl named Erica, with blonde hair and blue eyes, no older than 6 or 7 years old. Strangely, Tanaka seemed to take an immediate, instinctive dislike to the little girl, for reasons even she couldn't really comprehend. After bringing her in from the cold and helping her clean up, and introducing her to the others (and pointing out Qrow, who was napping after standing watch from 3:00 until 7:00, when Bazett finally set up a system of intrusion-detection runes), they all (except the MIA Gil and the male & still-asleep Qrow, of course) took a bath in the hot-spring/bath that Gil had conjured on the rooftop. During this, they learned that Tanaka's first coherent memories started immediately before she first met Illya & Fuuka, for some reason. …And poor little Erica's attempt to wash herself ended in failure, leading Fuuka to volunteer to help her.

A little while after the bath, Erica spotted her 'papa' waiting outside the school gate, and happily ran outside to meet him, with Illya following. As she left, Kaleid Ruby managed to get in contact with her 'sister', with Kuro and Bazett listening in… The man was tall and fairly well-built, wearing a black shirt & pants, with shoulder-length messy black hair and stubble on his chin. Illya let him in, and as he talked with his little girl Illya noticed that the rune-paper by the gate had come un-taped. And as she fixed it, she realized that the man's voice sounded familiar… and the instant the put the barrier back in place, the alarm began to ring.

' _This is…_ '

' _I am Darius Ainsworth, head of the Ainsworth family._ '

'… _your true enemy._ '

Illya's blood ran cold.

"What a tasteless alarm…" Darius remarked. He slowly turned towards Illya, while Erica covered her ears from the blaring alarm. "Such an annoying and inconsiderate alarm. For the starting bell, it's absolutely tasteless."

There was a crash from behind him as Bazett burst through a window, immediately taking a combat stance.

"Bazett-san!" Illya called out.

"Oh?" Darius didn't even turn to face her. "So you're the one who set up this barrier? Devotion to practical application is a valid aesthetic." He looked back over his shoulder. "But, as you are a mage, I wish you would put some thought into the stage production. For example, a barrier should be done…" He pulled out a Class Card, and casually let it drop to the ground "like _this_. _Apneic Beauty_ …"

In a mere second, a huge dome of ultra-hardened magic-formed ice formed around him, Erica, and Illya, blocking Bazett's charge.

"My apologies for the impromptu stage," he said to Illya, "but I wanted to have a nice, peaceful chat with you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Illyasviel von-Einzbern. I am Darius, patriarch of the Ainsworth family."

"You're…"

"Yes. I am the one who discovered the Holy Grail named 'Miyu', created the Cards that draw out the power of Heroic Spirits, and started the ritual to complete the Holy Grail, the Holy Grail War! Yes indeed… From your perspective, I must seem like an evil overlord to be defeated."

There were a few faint thuds as Bazett tried and failed to bash her way through from outside, followed by a muffled blast as Kuro's attempt to blast a hole also failed. Kaleid Ruby started shouting, panicking over her master's predicament.

"So noisy outside…" Darius remarked. "Was this a failure? If only it blocked out sound, as well. Yes, definitely a failure."

"…What is?" Illya asked.

"It's getting… unbearably cold" Darius' serious and scary image took a blow as he wrapped his arms around himself, visibly shivering. "I didn't expect it to have such a weakness…"

"You put yourself inside a giant _ice dome_ and didn't expect to get cold?"

"I'm f-f-fine over here" Erica said, her teeth chattering. "N-N-Not c-cold at all. T-T-Totally f-fine…"

"You tricked us, Erica-chan? You were our enemy, but you hid your identity to get close?"

"Huh? I didn't trick you. I just wanted to see for myself, is all. I wanted to see if you were the person Miyu-onéechan said you were. You're kinda bumbling and you panic easy, which she left out, but even though she told us you were a really kind person, you're even kinder than she made me think you were."

"We heard all about you from Miyu" Darius said. "All the people she met, what has happened, everything. My, indeed… How _wonderful_! Sent to a parallel world! Forging a pact with a mysterious Mystic Code! Learning friendship for the first time as she faces peril to collect the Class Cards! _However_! Her false 'daily life' has reached its end, and she has returned to me once more! It's a mythology woven of coincidence, providence, and fate across multiple worlds!" He laughed, rather unstably. "Thank you for gathering my Cards, Illyasviel! No, no… I won't ask you to return them! Use them as you will to-"

"Papa! _Papa!_ You're going too far!"

"…You're right. I'm not entirely used to it yet."

"Miyu would never tell you all those things!" Illya shouted. "She never even talked about them with _us_!

"…Welllll, if you wanna get _technical_ , she didn't so much _tell_ us as we… used a ritual to allow us to literally _read_ her memories." He scratched his chin. "Though curiously… there are quite a bit of blacked-out sections, like the redacted sections of some secret agent's report. From what I can discern, someone else placed immaterial 'seals' to prevent outsiders from seeing certain things in her memories without her permission. All attempts to break the seals and find out what she's hiding are met by an image of a bright red circle with a black dot in the middle and three comma-like markings around it…"

'One of the Uchiha placed something to keep enemies from intruding in certain parts of Miyu's mind?' Illya thought. 'They probably did the same to me, too. I can remember everything just fine, but it probably only keeps _other_ people from seeing them uninvited…'

Then, however, she fell to her knees, her breaths increasingly shallow.

"You shouldn't shout too much. This frozen palace can't be broken from the outside. But in exchange, the oxygen within slowly depletes." He dropped another card, forming a small transparent barrier around himself and Erica. "And 301 seconds after activation, oxygen density reaches zero. Now, let's have a nice long chat while we can…"

Illya's head was swimming, her breath weakening.

"Oh? That's odd… Don't tell me you can't even talk anymore? I suppose I'll have to reconsider. As an actor, if you can't even ad-lib such a part, then perhaps you aren't necessary to our stage."

Suddenly, there was a massive bang as the ice shattered inwards, accompanied by a blast of fire and hot wind. Fresh air rushed in, and Illya took deep grateful gulping gasps, feeling her consciousness sharpen back to normal. Standing outside the hole was Tanaka, her eyes glazed over, the air around her body wavering with searing heat.

"I see…" Darius looked at her. "You were one who was not in Miyu's memory. "How unfortunate. I don't like it when extras ruin the stage."

Kaleid Ruby flew over to Illya, who immediately transformed. Then…

"Drive Form – Valor! Saber Card – Include!"

In a flash of light, Illya was in her Valor Form, Keyblade in one hand and Excalibur in the other. Darius' eyes widened.

"A Keyblade?" he breathed out, astonished. "That must be from one of the redacted sections…"

"Erica-chan…" Illya said. "Earlier, I mentioned… that it's wrong to hurt someone without a reason… Well… when it comes to hurting your 'dad', I've got a _damn_ good reason: he and his flunkies _hurt and kidnapped my FRIEND!-!_ "

She rushed forward, bringing both blades down, but Darius dodged the Keyblade and _caught_ the swing of Excalibur, to everyone's shock.

"Kidnapped?" Erica asked, sounding thoroughly confused. "But… Miyu-onéechan came back to us on our own…"

"No, she didn't!" Illya shouted as she leapt back. "This man sent Angelica and Beatrice to take her back by force!"

"They attacked us out of nowhere, beat Miyu around and tried to kill us all!" Fuuka added in from the sidelines. "When we last saw Miyu, she was beaten and tied up in a chain, being dragged away by the tall blonde while begging us to help her, while the psycho bitch with the hammer tried to pound us into bloody mulch!"

The little girl looked very shocked and upset. "B-But… But papa told me…"

Before Darius could think of any way to save face with Erica, he suddenly drew a Card and formed a dull-grey sword in a flash of black light, spinning around to block a falling downward strike from a tall man in grey, black, & red. He leapt back a couple meters, staring down the newcomer.

"Another unwanted extra taking to the stage…" Darius growled.

"Darius Ainsworth, I presume?" the other man asked.

"That's right. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage…"

"Qrow Branwen, veteran Hunter from Remnant. And sorry, pal, but you're not walkin' outta here. Nothing personal, but… Oh wait, you're attacking the kids I'm looking out for, and you kidnapped one of 'em. So yeah, it _is_ kinda personal."

"…So you're the one who dealt that wound to Angelica. Well, I'm afraid you won't find me to be as easy prey as-"

Qrow flashed forward, and Darius rapidly brought his Phantasm Blade to block, beginning a rapid exchange of blows, the clangs of clashing metal ringing out as the two men moved with fluid grace, rushing speed, and fearsome power. Darius was unpleasantly surprised not only by Qrow's speed and skill, but also the sheer physical strength behind his Aura-enhanced blows; blocking a hit more often than not sent an ache through his arm or even knocked him back a bit.

Erica got out of the way, pressing herself against the outside wall of the school building, as the duel steadily increased in intensity. As he got a feel for Qrow's style, Darius started matching the Hunter blow for blow, making the fight into a stalemate. But then…

"Trace, On! Crescent Rose!"

Kuro leapt into the fray, wielding a huge red mechanical scythe, and Darius had to summon a second blade in order to block the duo's continuous attacks from different angles, again being pushed back. And then Illya joined in, wielding Counterpoint and Excalibur, tipping the odds even further as she and her sister supported Qrow.

It soon became clear that, between his own skill & power and the sisters' help, Qrow was giving Darius trouble, the Ainsworth patriarch's cool façade gone in the face of the unexpected struggle. The Hunter leapt back as Kuro moved in, swinging the Traced copy of Crescent Rose in a flurry of slashing blows that Darius narrowly dodged. He lashed out with a kick, but she seemed to vanish in a whorl of red rose petals that swirled all around and in Darius' face, leaving him trying to bat them away and clear his vision. He managed to blow them away with a pulse of power…

…and had barely any time to react as Qrow, Illya (with only her Keyblade so that she could put both hands into her attack's force), and Kuro came in with falling slashing strikes. He hastily tossed up a Barrier spell, but their attacks cut right through it, and only his simultaneous hop backward saved him from being sliced to pieces. As it was, he cried out as the blades slashed across his chest with a spray of blood. As he staggered back, Qrow moved in for a follow-up blow, a full-force punch to the face that sent Darius hurtling back through the air to slam into the wall near Erica with such force that he almost went _through_ it, destroyed plaster and stone falling around him as he slid down, groaning and wincing.

Qrow then charged in for a finishing blow, but Darius grabbed a surprised Erica and warped the both of them away with Displacement Magic, retreating back to the Ainsworth Castle. Letting out a sigh, Qrow secured his blade to his back, and then turned to the group.

"So…" he remarked. "What exactly happened while I was napping?"

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

After that, things were calm for the rest of the day. Gil, when he returned from his food hunt, was concerned by the fact that Darius' ice-barrier Noble Phantasm was one he had never heard of, when he was 'supposed' to have information on all the original Noble Phantasms in his 'treasury'. Meanwhile, Tanaka had been sleeping soundly since the battle, but her body was still giving off startling amounts of heat; just what was she, anyway? As night fell, and she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, Illya found herself thinking about Erica. The little girl seemed so innocent, and had looked genuinely surprised and upset upon learning that Miyu _hadn't_ come back of her own will like her 'papa' had told her. What else were Darius and his underlings hiding from the tot? As she thought about this and that, Illya drifted off to a deep sleep…

Early the next morning, Kuro woke up first and went to check on her sister. She pulled back the curtain… and found an empty bed, with Kaleid Ruby and the Class Cards left lying in the middle, while the nearby window was open. A frenzied rush to wake and gather everyone else ensued, and then Kuro stormed over to Gil's room, certain that the smug little bastard would know something. She all but kicked down the door… finding the little blonde boy lying in a big fancy canopy-bed in what could only be called a pose, naked but for a thin red sheet covering his lower half, and _was that a rose in his mouth_?

"Mmyes?" he asked. "There something I can help you with?"

In no mood for his usual nonsense, Kuro 'Traced' a _harisen_. Her first whack upside Gil's head drew a wincing shout from the boy as he instinctively tried to roll away, only to let out a squeal as her 'weapon' smacked his bare backside hard enough to knock him clear off the bed.

"I swear, I'm gonna kill you once I get my full power back…" he grumbled.

Putting their heads together, the group wondered how anyone could have snuck in and taken Illya without setting off the alarm. Unfortunately, Gil pointed out that there _was_ a way the enemy could have done that: his Cloth of Concealment, lost during the initial failed foray into the Ainsworth Castle. Realizing that had to be where she'd been taken, they started working to come up with a plan of action…

- _ **Break**_ -

Every time Illya thought she'd experienced a day worthy of the title "Weirdest Day of My Life", something new eventually happened to blow the old record out of the water. For example, waking up to find your mind and soul trapped inside the body of a stuffed doll in the heart of the enemy stronghold was something _nobody_ ever expected. After that, she'd gotten to see just how warped and twisted Erica's worldview had been made by growing up in the Ainsworth household, narrowly escaped being torn in half by Beatrice (while seeing that the violent girl had some _very_ strange hidden habits), and discovered that Rin  & Luvia's bodies were implanted with false consciousnesses like hers was and employed as maids… and maids that were capable of fighting, at that, wielding "Nameless" single-use Phantasm Cards.

She'd made her way into the attic, where she'd finally found Kaleid Sapphire, the two of them transforming together… and discovering that, in her stuffed-doll form, Illya's magic was pathetically weak. They'd made their way back into Erica's room, where her body was, but Angelica was waiting for them. Fortunately, Illya managed to pull off some clever split-second trickery to return to her own body, transforming with Sapphire.

The ensuing battle against Angelica and the mind-controlled Rin & Luvia spilled outside, and Illya & Sapphire learned that the Ainsworth Clan magic was 'Flash Air', the supposedly-basic and weak Displacement Magic taken to astounding new heights to enable a staggering number of possibilities. And unfortunately, Angelica was skilled enough with it to warp away any shots Illya fired at the displacement seals on Rin & Luvia's bodies' chests, preventing her from returning those two to normal.

And then, Illya learned of the Ainsworth's reasons: this world was dying. The planet's mana was disappearing, plants & animals were dying off, and the planet had even shifted from its natural axis. A mysterious non-mana energy was filling in the spots on the planet where natural mana had dried up, poisoning and killing all forms of complex life there, from plants to humans. They planned to sacrifice Miyu's life in order to use the Holy Grail's power to change humanity into something capable of surviving in the 'new' world that was coming. And if they didn't, according to Angelica, the human race would go extinct, along with everything else.

"What will you choose?" Angelica asked her. "Save Miyu? Or save humanity?"

When Illya hadn't been quick enough to answer, the brainwashed Rin & Luvia had tried to blast her, but Illya & Sapphire had 'Included' the Assassin Card, using its power to stay alive long enough for Kuro and Fuuka to arrive as backup. Revealing that Kid Gil had told them everything, Kuro _immediately_ made it clear she chose Miyu over this world, and after only a couple minutes' deliberation Fuuka followed suit (though discernably more bothered by her choice than Kuro was, not exactly happy about supposedly consigning billions of souls to oblivion).

The ensuing fight against Angelica and the mind-controlled Rin & Luvia was accompanied by an equally vicious inner struggle within Illya's heart & mind. However, in the end, with Miyu and Darius watching & listening in, she made her choice, one that nobody expected:

"I can't choose between Miyu and the world. I… will save _both!-!_ I will save Miyu, _and_ save this world! Saying we have to choose between them is flawed from the start! It's the 'Holy Grail', right? We entrust humanity's wishes and hopes to it, right? So why aren't we wishing for _everyone_ to be happy?-! I don't know how to make it happen, exactly, but…"

"But…" Kuro picked up. "Maybe that kind of dream-like wish is exactly what we should entrust to the Grail, right?"

"…Right… Right!"

Suddenly, wicked near-hysterical laughter rang out from nowhere – or rather, from a small Displacement Magic portal hovering several meters in the air.

"What _splendid_ , biting words, Illyasviel" Darius announced. "How arrogant, how sentimental, how _illogical_ … And yet they strike the heart… That's as you should be. We need you to continue trying to save Miyu."

"…I thought my fate was to die as the Holy Grail" Miyu's voice was heard on the other end. "I had given up, thinking I couldn't escape it. But…"

"Will you cling to such fragile hope," Darius asked, "such uncertain idealism that could disappear when you try to seize it?"

"I won't… run away into despair anymore!"

After a few seconds, the man burst into unstable laughter again. "How _touching_! Did you hear that, Illyasviel?-! Your willpower has given our 'princess' hope! I want you to fight with _all_ your power; come and try to steal Miyu from me! Hope is… the worst of all poisons."

Kuro snarled. "Shave your stupid beard and wash your neck, old man. We're coming for you!"

"You're next," Fuuka added, "after we pound _this_ bitch into the dirt" she glared at Angelica.

"…Illya, release your Install. For straight-up combat, your base form is more effective than Assassin."

Illya nodded, dispelling the Assassin Install. Kuro proceeded to apparently fawn over how Illya looked with Kaleid Sapphire… while discreetly slipping a Class Card into her holster and then whispering a brief plan to her sister.

"…So, Sapphire, what's goin' on exactly?" Kuro asked.

"Our enemy specializes in Displacement Magic" the Mystic Code replied. "Rin-sama & Luvia-sama's minds have been displaced from their bodies, but they'll return to normal if you strike the seals on their chests."

"Okay, then. We've got the bare minimum of intel. First, we need to rescue those two idiots. The best timing is…"

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Angelica shouted.

"…up to you."

And then, Bazett and Kid Gilgamesh appeared from out of nowhere. Angelica found herself restrained by Enkidu, and then Bazett landed a punch straight on Luvia's seal, while Gil jabbed at Rin's with the tip of his chain.

"W-Where did you two come from?" Illya asked.

Gil looked to Angelica. "You shouldn't have stored that cloth in the Gate of Babylon." The 'cloth of concealment flowed out, shifting and collecting into the form of a pointed hat. "I'm the one with ownership of that domain, so I can draw from it, too… Hades' Cap of Invisibility."

He put it in, vanishing from sight and magical detection, while Kaleid Ruby floated over to Illya.

"I… I'm back in my body?" Rin looked over herself.

Luvia, meanwhile, screamed as she crossed her arms over the few bare strings of cloth at the chest of her damaged dress. "What the hell's with this topless outfit?-!"

"You infiltrated with four but kept two hidden?" Angelica asked, still struggling against Enkidu.

"These two ran too far ahead," Bazett replied, "so we barely made it in time."

"Sorry 'bout that." Kuro remarked, while forming her longbow and notching an exploding arrow-sword.

"I won't let you shoot" Angelica growled, opening multiple weapon-Gates.

"Hey, hold on!" Rin shouted. "I don't know what's going on yet!"

"An explanation would be nice," Luvia added, still covering herself, "and so would a coat or something, _please_!"

"Here ya go."

Luvia jumped slightly, startled by Qrow appearing right behind her as he removed his ragged red cape and draped it over her. "Long story short, this planet's running out of mana and everything's slowly dying because of some toxic 'other' energy replacing it, and the Ainsworths are planning to sacrifice Miyu to change humanity into something capable of surviving in the aftermath. Our little snowflake, however, plans to find a way to save Miyu _and_ this planet. Also, Little Gilgamesh is our ally for now."

Angelica fired, but the still-hidden Gil opened his own 'Gates' and absorbed the fired weapons, reclaiming them. "You never do learn" he remarked, temporarily removing the cloaking hat.

"This isn't the time to collect change" Kuro admonished him. "We managed to save Rin & Luvia, so your next task is…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" He vanished again.

Angelica used conjured swords to cut herself free, and then formed a multitude of shields between herself and Kuro. In response, the darker-skinned girl grinned.

"What makes ya think I'm aiming at _you_?"

Then, she shifted her aim and fired a high-explosive arrow right at the tip of the castle tower, blowing the roof and most of the walls off, leaving Darius, Miyu, and Erica exposed to sunlight.

"This is why I hate children…" the man griped. "Every single one of you ignores the program!"

As the dust settled, Miyu slowly stepped forward, as a pink angel flew to her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm here to save you now."

As she gazed into Illya's eyes, a beautiful little smile formed on Miyu's face, tears of joy forming in her eyes. Angelica fired a wave of spears at her, but Illya formed a Shield to block them without even looking. She then charged through the air at Darius, who released a wave of entangling thorns from a Class Card, trapping her in a cage of them. He then fired a massive impaling pillar of wood, but then Illya – now with Saber Install active – broke free and cleaved the massive projectile in half. She then charged at Darius, letting out a war cry as she swung her glowing blade. He smirked and raised his hand to block it, catching the blade effortlessly…

"Include! Rule Breaker!"

…And then Sapphire flew in and accepted Illya's second Card, and with a lightning-quick thrust Illya drove the bizarrely-shaped anti-magic dagger right into Darius' chest. The reaction that followed was not foreseen by _anyone_. Darius screamed out as a torrent of pitch-black Dark Mana erupted from his body, sizzling all around him.

" _ **H**_ _ow…_ _ **d**_ _are_ _ **y**_ _ou…_ " He choked out, his eyes now blood-red with black sclera.

The man fell to his knees, as the flow of Dark Mana from his body increased. The tower they were atop suddenly transformed – or perhaps reverted – into a pillar of rock with a wide, flat top.

"What's… going on…?" Illya murmured.

" _What the hell are you doing, you motherfuckers?-!_ "

Illya leapt back to dodge Beatrice's hammer strike, as the redhead looked back at the man enveloped in leaking dark energy.

"What the hell's happening with him?"

"Protect Darius-sama" Angelica commanded as she took a guarding position over him. "That's all you need to know. Where have you been?"

"Giving myself some enjoyment; don't make me go into detail, especially with children present." She turned to look at Illya, hefting her hammer with a grin. "Well, what-the-fuck-ever's goin' on around here, you're up against _both_ of us now. No matter what you try on your own, you ain't reachin' anyone again. Not this man, nor your little caged birdie."

"…I'm not on my own" Illya retorted, taking a stance with Excalibur and Kaleid Sapphire. And besides, Miyu… has wings of her own!"

She launched Kaleid Sapphire at Miyu, who transformed in a brilliant flash of beautiful blue light. She leapt high with her solid-magic platforms, 'flying' up to meet Illya in a desperate embrace. Meanwhile, with Darius' magic dispelled, the entire castle was steadily reverting back to its original shape & form as an intricately-reshaped mountain

"…Miyu-onéechan," Erica looked up at the girls, "are you leaving again?"

"Erica…"

"Erica-chan…" Illya spoke up. "I don't want to sacrifice anyone. If there's a way to save everyone, no matter how slim the chance may be, I want to pursue it."

"You fuckin' moron!" Beatrice shouted. "Don't tell me you believe that fairy-tale bullshit, Miyu!"

"…I do" the black-haired girl replied. "Because I have powerful allies… and powerful friends. Together, we are strong. Strong enough to do anything."

"…What about me?" the little blonde girl asked. "Aren't I your friend too, Miyu-onéechan?"

"Erica… I did care about you, to be honest. You really did try to be kind to me, like a little sister should. But… So long as you remain loyal to Darius, to the Ainsworths… I cannot call you my friend. …The Ainsworth Clan, which you are part of and loyal to, is my sworn enemy."

The look of heartbreak that formed on the tiny girl's face was plainly evident to the two young heroines.

"Have you forgotten, Miyu-sama?" Angelica asked. "We still hold your brother's life in our hands."

"…Not for long" Qrow shouted up at them. "You didn't notice, eh? Where do you think _our_ little blonde brat went?"

Then, as the last of the barrier separating this space from the outside world faded away, the Dark Mana pouring out of Darius intensified. Then, the heroines watched in confused shock as his flesh peeled away, and an entirely different person fell out from inside of him. Before they could get a good look, Angelica dashed over and hid him with a large cloak, standing guard. After a few seconds, the person began to laugh, his voice still a man's but no longer the intimidating baritone of Darius, but a higher, younger tenor… though still just as manically unstable in tone. Slowly, he stopped, and then looked up from within his cloak with an evil glare.

"…Even laughing is tiresome" he remarked. "This isn't funny… This isn't funny at _all_ … This is very, very… _trifling_ …" He held up a white-gloved hand toward the sky, and something began to phase into existence above it. "A mere _vessel_ shouldn't speak of the future. Your words, your will, your emotions… are all just materials. It's futile."

Now, a truly gigantic, jet-black cube floated low in the sky.

"You cannot overturn my myth…"

"What the hell is that…?" Qrow drew his blade. "It feels _wrong_ …"

"No human could… create _that_ …" Kuro said, deep in shock.

"It can't be…" Miyu was trembling. "It was here the whole time?"

"Miyu, what _is_ that?" Illya asked. "What's going on? Who _is_ Darius, anyway?"

"That's… not Darius. …Darius is long dead. The young man standing there is a 'counterfeiter' who hid Darius' death and clung to his ghost. He is…"

The white cloak blew away, revealing a youth in a boys' high-school uniform, short but wild black hair, and lifeless deep-blue eyes.

"…Julian Ainsworth – Darius' _son_."

"…Cease your prattling" the youth growled. "I _am_ Darius."

He formed a portal behind her, and she quickly backed away while forming her Keyblade to block his grab attempt.

"Illyasviel… I will forgive you. For giving Miyu unnecessary knowledge and power… for destroying my father's Conceptual replacement… Those are trivial matters. But remember _this_ : If you try to destroy my myth… If you try to overturn the conclusion I've established… I'll _tear you apart with my bare hands_!"

There was an explosion as Kuro fired a Blast Arrow at the huge black cube, but the bizarre construct was completely undamaged. Illya & Miyu hurried down to her.

"It's been a while, Miyu" Kuro said with a grin. "I'd love to hug you, too, but I think make-out time will have to wait until later."

" _Onii-chan_ …" Erica shuffled up to Julian. "Miyu-onéechan said… that as long as I'm an Ainsworth, I can't be her friend… Why not? I was always nice to her… She even pets my head…"

"You don't get it?" Beatrice scoffed. "She didn't care about you bein' 'nice' to her; who you are, what family you're part of, what blood runs in your veins… That all automatically makes you her _enemy_ , and that's all she'll ever see in you."

"Shut up for a second, Beatrice" Julian scolded her. "Erica… I am your only ally, your only family. You have no-one else left. People are born to perish. Our world is already broken and dying. Our future is already a dead-end. All the more reason I will protect it. You and I will realize the Ainsworth ambition! Understand?"

The little girl began to cry, but then forced herself to stop, wiping away her tears and putting a fake smile on her face. "I-I'm okay! Because I have you, _onii-chan_! I will… put my faith in you-"

And at that moment, a torrent of pitch-black 'mud' streaming down from the black cube engulfed her. The substance overflowed down the edges of the spire, as a massive grayish-purple rune formed on the cube's underside, pulsating like a sick parody of a heartbeat.

"I will advance the myth by another passage" Julian proclaimed. "If you're running, Miyu, then have it your way. However, the darkness of the Ainsworths will cover this world to its core."

Then, countless black figures began to emerge up from the black 'mud', seething with Dark Mana and with glowing red eyes the only discernable facial features. But what was most horrifying to the heroes was what they sensed of these things:

"Everyone one of them is… a Heroic Spirit?" Illya murmured, her voice and body trembling.

The black figures began to charge, and the heroes moved to engage. However, the enemy were stronger than expected – only Qrow actually managed to 'kill' any of them, and even then he only got two or three. Then, all at once they began to speak in deep, distorted voices:

" _ **hOLy… graIL… HolY… GrAil…**_ "

As Miyu trembled in fear, Julian spoke through a Displacement portal right beside her. "Those Spirits of the muck are the dead who failed to win the Grail. They are beasts whose only instinct is to seek the Grail. They will multiple until they manage to find it, and they will bury this planet in despair. …Do you understand? If you want to stop this disaster… take my hand, of your own free will."

He held out his gloved hand to the trembling girl, and slowly, she began to reach her own out… until a familiar little hand took hold of it instead.

"You can't take his hand" Illya told her, her other hand on Miyu's shoulder. "I've already got a hold of it."

"Illyasviel…" Julian snarled.

After a few seconds, Miyu smiled.

"…Pointless" Julian stated. "Must you lose everything you cling to before you'll understand?-!"

Dozens of bow-wielding Black Spirits fired an enormous wave of arrows at Kuro, Rin, Luvia, & Fuuka… but then a five-petaled shield of solid magic formed in the air, protecting them all. A lone figure slowly emerged through the swirling dust.

"That's right… Miyu, you don't need to be bound by that man any longer."

A simple civilian-looking outfit, dirtied and torn. Untied bandages trailing from his hands. Red hair with one lock turned bone-white. Skin with patches along his left arm and left side of his face that had turned darker in tone. Amber eyes full of courage and calm fury.

"I've heard what's going on. Thank you, everyone, for fighting for my little sister. I'll take care of the rest. That's my job, as her big brother."

"N-No way…" Illya breathed out. "M… Miyu's brother is… t-this world's…"

"Well, I'll be damned…" Qrow remarked.

Striding forward, glaring up at Julian, was the hero of the day, the 'Faker', Miyu's older brother:

" _Trace…_ "

Realm TMN-6's Shirou Emiya.

"… _On._ "

Several of the Black Spirits charged at him, but in a flash he 'Traced' Herakles' massive axe-sword and rushed through them, cutting them all down.

"Julian!" he called out. "It seems that Miyu can never find lasting happiness until you've been dealt with. If you're willing to sacrifice one person to save the world, I'm willing to take on all the 'evil' of saving her! Do you have the resolve to face me, Hero of 'Justice'?"

With a flash, he Traced 'Ig Alima', Gil's enormous 'mountain-cleaver', and threw it into the spire, forming a rising ramp/platform that he then started running up. Miyu landed in his path, tears in her eyes, and he smiled and petted her head.

"Miyu… I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. But this time… I'll make sure this all ends."

"Just how much…" Julian shouted down at him "are you going to meddle in my plans, Emiya Shirou? _There is no role for you in my myth!-!_ "

As Alt-Shirou charged, Angelica – in full Installed form – got in his way. "You shall not pass" she declared.

"Our positions are reversed from last time" he remarked.

"Enough useless talk, _Faker_."

"Right back at you, Counterfeiter."

The two began 'firing' blades at each other, neither managing to break through the other's assault/defense to land a solid blow. But then, Shirou spoke:

" _I am the bone of my sword…_ "

Unfortunately, he halted, doubling over in pain; in his captivity-weakened state, trying to trigger Unlimited Blade Works was just too much for him.

"I see…" Angelica said. "So you can't even invoke it anymore. In that case, there's nothing more to see here. Your role in this play is over. Die."

"Role… Play… Myth… I am _done_ with you people. Get out of my way, you third-rate actor."

He charged, dodging or parrying the blades she fired at him. However, she then used Displacement to release several from right behind him… but then a little red-clad figure leapt in and batted away the shots coming at him from both sides.

"I have… a _mountain_ of questions to ask you about Miyu, about your magecraft, and a lot of other things" Kuro told him. "But, for now… I'll give you a hand, _onii-chan_."

"W-Who…"

She grinned. "Call me 'Kuro'. I'm the combination of Illya's magically-sealed creation memories of her original 'purpose' as a Grail Conduit, and the Archer Card, given life and mind and form of my own, as her 'sister', by the Grail's power."

As Illya moved in down below to bar the path of the Black Spirits trying to climb up the huge blade, Rin, Luvia, Bazett, and Fuuka made clear their intent to stand together with Miyu.

'…I get it' Alt-Shirou thought. 'You're…'

"Miyu's not all alone anymore," Kuro told him, "and she's not some weak princess that just needs protecting, either."

"…Good grief. I'm losing my pride as a big brother here. …But, um… What's with that lewd outfit of hers? I think big brother may need to lecture her…"

"…Yep, you really are this timeline's Shirou Emiya. We can talk later. For now…"

"…Yeah. We have to deal with this small-fry in our way."

"How _vile_ ," Angelica said, "for there to be two Fakers… That magecraft overturns the law of equivalent exchange, producing near-perfect replicas in an instant. It is an _insult_ to the Ainsworth Clan's magic."

The two 'Tracers' were suitably unnerved as they saw that Angelica was using Displacement portals to continuously accelerate her projectile blades to ludicrous speed. She fired one, and Alt-Shirou avoided death by millimeters; there was no way in hell they'd be able to dodge a fusillade of those things. And then she started firing _all_ of them, and Shirou  & Kuro had to move in close to each other and cast a double Rho Aias, feeling the blades crash against their combined shield like hailstones from Hell.

The attack eventually abated, and the duo immediately charged again, flinging Kanchous & Bakuyas and letting the mated blades' pseudo-magnetic properties let them circle in at Angelica from both sides, while they also formed Overedge versions of the swords to wield melee. Shirou charged in, making a wide and powerful X-swing, but Angelica formed Displacement portals, using them to protect her from his strike.

…And then, as she wound up for a killing blow, an Overedge blade pierced up through the giant blade they stood on and slashed across her side, cutting a deep wound.

'The other one, the girl…' Angelica thought. 'I forgot she can _teleport_!'

"I'm tired of dealing with you" Shirou snarled. "Out of my way, 'King of Heroes'!"

He rushed past her with a mighty double-slash, leaving her to collapse in his wake, her Card Install coming undone. He dashed up the rest of the giant blade, leaping high, his Overedge blades held high.

"It ends now, Julian!-!" he shouted at the furiously-glaring other youth. "Now _die_!-!"

" _You can't do that, senpai~_ "

In a flash, a figure appeared from the muck that covered the spire's top – very obviously female, somewhat short in stature, and clad in wicked-looking black armor with a glowing red thin visor, cords tipped with stabbing spikes trailing from her helmet alongside her pale-purple hair. She caught one of his blades, yanking it out of his grip and swinging it to cut deep into his side…

Another new figure appeared, so fast that no-one yet got a look at him. With one smooth motion, he grabbed Alt-Shirou and leapt back away with him while touching the blade in the attacker's hand, 'Breaking' it and causing it to explode; the unstable enemy girl's armor was all that saved her from having her arm blown off.

"What the hell?-!" Beatrice shielded her face from the dust and smoke of the blast.

"Honestly…" a man's deep voice said with mixed exasperation and teasing mirth. "It seems that, no matter the universe, Shirou Emiya is near-suicidally reckless."

As the smoke cleared, everyone was astonished to see a tall, muscular, dark-skinned white-haired man clad in red supporting Alt-Shirou.

"A little factoid for you, Ainsworth" he told the enemies. "The Ainsworth Grail War channels Heroic Spirits' power through Cards… but the Einzbern clan's Grail War summons the actual Heroic Spirits themselves from the Throne of Heroes…"

"Archer!" Rin called up, surprise and relief mixed in her voice. He looked down and back at her.

"Sorry I'm late, Rin! But I didn't come alone!"

Down below, as several of the Black Spirits charged at Illya, Berserker dropped in from out of nowhere, landing in their path and roaring as he swung his axe-sword, slicing them all in half and sending them flying.

"Berserker?-!" Illya cried out. "You're here?-!"

Then, the black-armored girl had to turn and bring her armored hand up to catch a falling strike from Riku, and her face showed a look of shock as her touch failed to 'claim' his Keyblade. She then cried out as the decloaking Salia's blue psi-blade slashed down across her back, cutting through her armor and leaving a burnt gash along her flesh deep enough to damage organs. The duo leapt away from her and joined Archer & Alt-Shirou in heading down to the ground. Still in shock, Julian dispelled the badly-injured, insane wretch that had once been the Sakura Matou of Realm TMN-6, forcing her back into dormancy.

Down below, four Black Spirits trying to dogpile Miyu were slashed, bashed, and heart-stabbed in a fraction of a second, as Lancer arrived in defense of his Mistress. A Saber-type trying to sneak up on Luvia was sliced in half by a swing of Assassin Koujirou's longsword. As Alt-Shirou was brought down to ground level, it was just in time to see Saber Artoria make a falling slash to chop a big Black Spirit in half down the middle, while his own other-verse counterpart strode forward, two masses of light forming in his hands as he called forth the weapon from his dreams and another weapon of similar power:

"Trace: Caliburn! Trace: Master Sword!"

A barrage of _Sagitta Magica_ and a blur of motion cutting through several Black Spirits announced the arrival of Rider and her Mistress, Sakura Tohsaka; Alt-Shirou was deeply surprised to see her, especially with green eyes and hair that had turned the same shade of brown as Rin's from scalp to halfway down, leaving only the lower 'half' of her hair still purple. An Assassin-type Black Spirit had its neck snapped by a precise mana-enhanced blow from Kuzuki, while Caster reduced another attacker to ashes with a large conjured fireball.

The seven Masters and Servants then used brief bursts of super speed to gather, standing together in dramatic fashion for their enemies to behold.

"Servants and Masters of the Fifth Einzbern Grail War, in attendance!" Archer announced.

"What… the _fuck_ is this?-!" Beatrice shouted. "What the actual fuck?-!"

"I don't believe it…" Alt-Shirou murmured.

"Yo, Master's big bro!" Lancer waved to him, standing beside Miyu. "…You look like hammered shit. Our guys'll fix you up, don't worry; for now just kick back and let us handle the rest of this battle. You look like you're about to keel over, so I'd advise you chill for a bit."

"He's a Shirou" Rin replied with a deadpan tone. "That's not possible for him, I think."

"I heard that" Archer said. "And you're absolutely right."

"Don't forget about us~!"

Everyone 'local' turned to see the rest of the DDF detachment present – Riku & Salia, Team Kurenai, and the Uchiha Quartet.

"So…" Kiba said. "Big black floaty cube thingy causing trouble?"

"It seems to be the source for that black muck those dark spirit-things are spawning from" Riku replied. "…Let's break it."

"I think we'll have to thin out the enemy's numbers a bit first," Tiida said, "before they cause _more_ trouble."

Up top, Julian gritted his teeth. This was all so very out of control. This couldn't be…

"Goodness me, what an unexpected development~."

He and Beatrice turned, startled, and saw as a long shining chain reached down and plucked the Class Card from beside the fallen Angelica, pulling it upward to Kid Gilgamesh, who stood on a solid-mana platform a little ways above the spire.

"You've been running around causing trouble, haven't you?" He spoke to the card. "Welcome back, my other half." He looked down at the Ainsworths. "To be honest, a part of me doesn't really care what you morons are trying to do. But another part… is _really pissed off_."

Down below, the battle resumed in earnest, ignorant of the conversation going on at the top of the spire. With the arrival of so many powerful reinforcements, the enemy Black Spirits started falling in droves. Kuro 'Traced' the sword & sheathe of Adam Taurus, already working to start blocking and absorbing hits to convert into energy even as she cut foes down. Several huge enemies tried to charge, but Itachi and Teana formed Stage-2 _Susanō_ and met them blow for blow, quickly dispatching them. Sasuke and Fuuka fought side-by-side, their movements complimenting and synchronizing as master & student met the enemy head-on. Sakura used the healing magic she'd learned to start patching Alt-Shirou up, even as she also occasionally fired magic blasts at anything that got too close, while Rider, Illya's Shirou, and Saber carved through the opposition.

Alt-Shirou watched as Lancer and Miyu – who had Installed the Lancer card – fought together, two _Gáe Bolg_ dealing death to anything in range. Illya had entered Valor Form, supporting her Berserker. Hinata, Kiba & Akamaru, and Shino worked together, using various individual and combination techniques to rack up kills. Qrow formed up with Riku & Salia, while Luvia provided supporting fire to aid her Servant Assassin as he sliced his targets apart. Tiida watched Kuro's back, and Kuzuki & Caster combined close- and long-range maneuvers to score their own kills. Finally, Kuro's sheathed blade began to glow. As multiple Saber- and Lancer-class Black Spirits charged at her, she grinned and then drew & swung the blade in a lightning-fast _iaido_ strike. A massively powerful slicing wave of energy was released, cutting them all apart in an instant.

Unfortunately, though they were all killing scores of the Black Spirits, more kept spawning from the muck flowing down from the giant cube in the sky. Up top, Gilgamesh had since left, though not before giving the Ainsworths a bit of intel.

"Erica…" Julian turned to the little girl hidden in the continuous flow of dark substance. "Will it open?"

"…I'm sorry, _onii-chan_. I've been trying to open it, but… I can't…"

"…So, what he said is true. We need _two_ Holy Grails…"

Then, however, something streaked down through the sky, wreathed in flame like a comet, and crashed into the ground in Illya's path, obliterating several Black Spirits. When the smoke cleared, it revealed…

"…A sword?" she murmured.

The blade was long, glowing with heat, the air around it shimmering.

"There's a strange power in that thing…" Teana said, looking at it with her Sharingan. "Illya, take it! Use it against the cube!"

Though the sword's hilt was too hot to touch, Kaleid Ruby was able to extend and wrap her wings around it, becoming a hilt that Illya then took hold of. The pink-clad heroine took to the air, flying up towards the massive muck-producing cube, and Erica – now panicking for some reason, apparently knowing what the sword was and terrified of its power – started sending out blasting tendrils of muck, soon supported by dark-magic blasts from Julian. However, Illya's new sword cleaved through it all, and she then got right up underneath a corner of the cube and swung with all her might. An explosion went off as she slashed through, and huge crackes spread almost halfway up the entire construct. The muck stopped flowing out of it, and down below the Black Spirits dissolved away as the dark substance quickly evaporated.

"It's over, Julian!" Illya shouted. "Victory is in _our_ hands now!"

And then, she noticed that the sword was no longer a sword, but had instead turned into…

"Our… hands… hand… A hand… _HAAAAAND?-!-?-!_ "

Understandably freaked out, she quickly tossed the disembodied hand (which had even been making a peace sign!) away, as Teana flew up and joined her, trying to calm the girl down.

"That's…" Erica – still crouched down, her form hidden by the black muck covering her – started speaking "the World's Truth. It passes judgment… on 'Counterfeits' like us… The Arrow of Fire…"

"…I see" Julian said. "So it finally found us."

He reached his hand up, and the massive cube began to rapidly compress in on itself. In a matter of seconds, it had shrunken down to a cube only a few square inches in size, floating above his upturned palm.

"Beatrice. You have my permission to bring your lightning to its second stage."

"Of course," the unstable redhead began charging a huge amount of power into her hammer, "my beloved Julian-sama…"

"Julian, stop this!" Illya shouted. "What's the point in fighting anymore?-! I want to save the world, just as you do! So let's save this world _and_ Miyu! We can look for a way together!"

"Even if the small possibility of saving them both existed…" He looked back at her with a vicious glare. "The world and Miyu… are _all_ you'd be able to save…"

"…What do you-"

"Time to go, kiddo!" Teana grabbed her, flying away from the spire as quickly as they could as Beatrice prepared to unleash. Looking back, Illya saw as Julian handed the shrunken cube to Erica, who emerged from the muck looking older, closer to Illya in age, clad in a deep-blue and black dress, her eyes now dull and lifeless.

Then, Beatrice released her attack, and several _enormous_ pillars of lightning crashed down around the tower and rushed out from it in a spiral pattern, carving deep trenches of glassed earth and obliterating everything in their path. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, and Teana formed a Stage-3 _Susanō_ around herself & Illya just before one hit them, the spectral defense managing to endure and keep them both safe.

"Illyasviel… Miyu…" Julian was in the process of Displacing the entire castle-shaped rock formation into another realm. "Enjoy your fleeting dream while it lasts. Your desires and my own can _never_ be reconciled. The power of the Grails… will be _mine_ …"

With that, the entire mountain vanished, leaving scarred earth in the center of the crater. Teana & Illya flew down to where everyone else was gathering, just as Miyu leapt into her brother's arms, crying as she finally got to hug him again after so long…

"All's well that ends well," Kiba remarked, "at least for now…"

"Let's get out of here," Sasuke said, "find someplace cozier to share stories."

"Still…" Illya smiled. "I can hardly believe it. We all made it out alive… Thank goodness…"

- _Break_ -

" _Noooooo!-!-! Stay awaaaay!-!_ "

Illya's earlier happy mood was nowhere to be seen now, as she ran from the disembodied hand & forearm that was happily chasing after her. It finally caught her again, crawling all over her back, and she squealed and trembled from the major willies this gave her.

"It's mildly horrifying yet strangely hilarious…" Kuro remarked.

"Well, it seems to be harmless" Luvia said. "And it's taken a liking to her, too!"

"So, if we've got Thing here," Tiida quipped, "should we keep a lookout for Cousin It?"

"Well then," the 'local' Shirou said as Kaleid Ruby wrapped the moving hand in Bind spells, "thank you all for everything – for saving my sister, and… Why don't we all head to my & Miyu's place? I'm sure everyone has lots to explain about." He turned to look back at the last member of the group – dirty, tired, covered in wounds, and under guard. "That okay with you… Angelica?"

"I have no objections…" the tall blonde replied.

"Do we really gotta bring _her_ along?" Kuro asked.

"Julian tossed her out and left her to die," Qrow replied, "and without the Gilgamesh Card our heavy hitters can handle her if she tries to make trouble."

"I have no intentions of further hostility" the woman stated. "I am a discarded, broken doll; do with me as you see fit."

'The look in her eyes…' Illya thought. 'It's the same as Rin-san and Luvia-san and… _me_ … when we were soulless 'dolls' under the Ainsworths' control. It's like she doesn't have her own will…' She looked out into the snowy sky. 'And… Gil-kun left us… I know he said he was only helping us so he could reclaim his Card, but… I thought he'd at least say goodbye…'

"…Hey, doesn't it kinda feel like we're forgetting something?" Fuuka asked suddenly.

At that, the disembodied hand broke free of its binds, flopping down into the snow and then drawing two _kanji_ in it.

"Nakata?" Illya tilted her head, puzzled. "Nakata, Naka… Tanaka! Crap, we left her at the school!"

- _Break_ -

After a quick detour to find Tanaka and reunite her with her arm (which she proceeded to stick back on like nothing was wrong), they all headed to this realm's Emiya household, which turned out to be much bigger and fancier than the home Illya was familiar with. Before 'Exposition Time', the girls finally got to have proper baths in the wake of their recent battles. After that, however, it was discovered that the only clothes the younger ones had available to wear were some of Miyu's pajamas… which were very cutesy, little-kiddy animal-themed onesies. Fuuka, in particular, was quietly mortified at having to be in a pink bunny-themed one, especially when Teana (who was increasingly becoming a surprisingly caring and close big-sis figure for her) squeed and declared her adorable.

When it came time to share stories, it was the travelers' turn first. They told Alt-Shirou, Tanaka, and Angelica about the history of the mage clans and the Grail Wars on Illya's world, about the adventures Illya and Miyu had gotten caught up in, about the DDF and its eventual involvement in Team Illya's affairs, about the Fifth Grail War and how it had progressed so far (Alt-Shirou was horrified to learn that Sakura 'Matou' had purple hair & eyes because of Crest Worm 'implantation', though TMN-5's Sakura had been purged of the little demon-beasts), about people and places and things. Alt-Shirou was unpleasantly surprised to learn that the Gilgamesh and Kotomine of TMN-5 were supposedly much more evil than this Realm's…

Then, Alt-Shirou had told his & Miyu's tale. The Kiritsugu of this timeline, who was now dead, not abandoning his initial extreme ideals; Miyu's origins; Shirou's decision to place his baby sister's happiness above all else; the ugly confrontations with Julian and his underlings, who kidnapped Miyu and left him for dead; the fight against this realm's Shinji Matou, who murdered Sakura right in front of Shirou's eyes; Shirou 'Installing' the Archer Card and vanquishing Shinji… revealing him to be a 'doll' of the Ainsworths implanted with the already-dead Shinji's pseudo-consciousness; fighting the other card-users; learning that Darius was not Julian's father, but the Ainsworth clan 'patriarch' using each new generation's son as a vessel for his wicked spirit; Shirou unleashing Unlimited Blade Works to defeat Angelica, and then using the Grail's power to send Miyu and the Cards away into Illya's realm to find safety and happiness…

"Thank you… for telling us everything" Illya said with a teary smile, moved by how much this Shirou had done, had sacrificed, all for his sister…

"We'll see if we can set up a trans-Realm portal between here and Illya-chan's home Realm" Tiida spoke up. "That way, we can help each other more easily. Perhaps… Here, and in the shed behind Illya & Kuro's house?"

"It would be wise to have at least one person here to guard the portal and this location" Angelica suggested. "Perhaps I could perform that duty."

"Tanaka will help!" the excitable girl raised her hand. "This place is nice and cozy – awesome place to stay in!"

"If you guys are going to be returning to 'your' Realm soon," Alt-Shirou said, "to see the Fifth Einzbern Grail War to its end, then… maybe I'll come with. It'll take the Ainsworths a while to lick their wounds and regroup, so I think we have some time. You've helped Miyu & I deal with _our_ foes, it's only polite that we do the same."

"In the case," Archer spoke up, "I can help you further your training with your powers… so long as you help me continue training 'our' Shirou. Though, it seems his style is a bit different from yours – he seems to favor Caliburn & the Master Sword instead of Kanchou & Bakuya, for one thing…"

"Man, how long is it gonna take to explain everything that's happened to mom, dad, Sella, & Liz?" Kuro remarked.

"We'll figure something out" Fuuka replied, shaking a kink out of her neck (and making the big floppy ears of her bunny-onesie's hood flip back & forth, to her further embarrassment).

"Let's stay the night first" Rin said. "I'm dead-tired."

"And maybe we can have a snowball fight tomorrow?" Illya suggested. "Just, y'know, while the opportunity's there…"

As details were discussed and decided, the night rolled on. At bedtime, Miyu slept cuddled in the same bed with Illya and Kuro, her dear friends who'd risked everything to save her…

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next Time: Back to Team Illya's home Realm, as the Fifth War progresses…


	9. Developments

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

The return to Illya's home Realm went off without a hitch, a Protoss/TSAB/Forerunner-tech portal pair connecting the Emiya households of the two worlds to allow easy passage (and the portal in TMN-6 was magically 'cloaked' to prevent the Ainsworths from detecting it in any way), and two-way communication was possible in case Angelica or Tanaka had anything to report. Alt-Shirou was surprised to actually experience summer, though he accepted that he'd have to stay 'hidden' as much as possible until the magic perception-altering disguise objects the DDF had ordered from Mahora Academy arrived in a few days, which would enable him to finally go out-&-about without the presence of two Shirous (or a Shirou with a lock of white hair and darker patches of skin) raising any awkward questions. The explanations of everything to Illya's family had gone quite smoothly, though Alt-Shirou was still surprised by the differences between 'his' Kiritsugu and this one.

"It kinda feels like we're approaching a turning point," Illya remarked, "like we're getting close to the big climax."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow" Kaleid Ruby muttered, and then narrowly dodged a thrown object from her 'master'.

"When the time comes," Miyu said, "we will need to either purge the corrupted Grail… or, if that's not feasible, destroy it."

"And all of our Servants will…" Illya looked downcast.

"Maybe not."

The girls looked up to see Teana leaning against the open door's frame, arms crossed with a little smile on her face.

"I've called in a favor," she said, "asked someone really knowledgeable about magic to come and see if she can do anything to help. She's due to arrive in a few hours."

- _Break_ -

Shortly after lunch, the 'help' Teana called in turned out to be Reinforce, the resurrected arch-mage and surviving 'student' of The Librarian. The DDF and locals gathered, and explained the situation to her.

"I don't think I can stick around long enough to see this Grail War through to the end," she admitted, "since I have a couple of other projects running. But I believe I can help in a different way. If the seven Servants could please step forward…"

The septet did as told, even Berserker. Reinforce pulled out a book that they immediately sensed was _full_ of ancient, nigh-incomparable power: The Tome of Night Sky.

"I believe I can replicate, to a degree, the inner workings of the spell for Familiar creation & transfer, and the ritual-spell that originally bound the Wolkenritter to the Book… and combine them. You will be something 'more' than those, connected to your Masters as pseudo-Familiars but – of course – with free will. You will be 'severed' from the Corrupted Grail, such that you will be able to survive its potential destruction and not be dispelled back to the Throne of Heroes at the war's end, but still have all of your powers. …Will you accept?"

After a few seconds, all seven stepped forward – even Berserker, who looked back at Illya and nodded. A large, bright white Forerunner-style magic rune-circle appeared on the ground with Reinforce standing in the center, the Night-Sky Tome floating up and glowing with power. When she opened her eyes, they were faintly glowing as well. Then, seven more rune-circles appeared beneath the Servants, magical light flowing upwards around them. The light pulsed and flared all around them, and they 'felt' as their connection to the corrupted Holy Grail was carefully severed, while their connections to their respective Masters were changed into a new type.

As the light slowly faded, Reinforce took a deep, slow breath. "Now that it has been made so that you won't be leaving us once the Grail War is complete, we can truly say: welcome to the Dimensional Defense Force."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Next Day**

Reinforce had departed soon after, leaving the Servants to enjoy their new lease on life. Of course, things weren't all fun & games; they had to keep an eye out for any signs of further activity from Kotomine Kirei or from Xehanort's forces. So far, things had been quiet – only a few small packs of low-level Heartless, 4-6 in each, had been encountered the past couple days, most of them drawn by Caster's 'lure' at the temple.

Right now, in a mostly-empty park not far from Illya's house, she, Miyu, Kuro, both Shirous, and Saber were observing in the wake of a minor instantaneous fluctuation around here in the monitoring spells watching over the city… as well as things less serious; Alt-Shirou had happily volunteered to push Miyu on the swings, despite the girl's slight embarrassment, while the 'local' Shirou did the same for Kuro, and Saber had surprisingly made it clear she'd like to do the same to Illya, who shyly agreed. For a while, the trio got to be simple, normal little girls enjoying the swings.

However, the fun times came to an end when they suddenly all sensed an oppressive 'presence' in the area. They immediately got serious, readying their magical energies just in case. Then, Alt-Shirou suddenly cast _Rho Aias_ , saving Saber and Illya from a pair of high-velocity spears.

"I didn't expect to see you again… my dear Saber…"

The group turned in the direction of the voice, and Saber went deathly pale, her grip on her drawn sword tightening until her knuckles went white. The newcomer was a young man, fairly tall, clad in an open black jacket over a white shirt, with matching black pants. He had blond hair, and red eyes, and he gave the three girls and two Shirous a look of disgust and contempt, like their mere presence was something he found insulting and offensive. And his energy signature was cold and dark, the 'feel' of evil, as well as being startlingly powerful.

As they stared, Alt-Shirou and the girls soon realized just who this was, come out of hiding at last: Realm TMN-5's…

"Gilgamesh…" Saber breathed out.

Immediately the group got ready to fight; Illya, Miyu, & Kuro transformed, with Kuro 'Tracing' Zanbar-form Bardiche, while local-Shirou formed Caliburn, and Alt-Shirou summoned his Kanchou & Bakuya. Lastly, Illya summoned her Keyblade. The local Gilgamesh sneered.

"You cast your lowly eyes upon me, you draw weapons against me, and you wield weapons I do not possess versions of, including a _Keyblade_ , the one type of weapon I have coveted but have never been able to acquire… Those are all offenses worthy of death."

Local-Shirou growled, tightening his grip on Caliburn. "You won't lay a hand on my baby sister…"

Looking back & forth between him and Saber, Gilgamesh's face formed into even more of an angry frown. "The two of you share a bond, when she is supposed to be _mine_? …I will be certain to make _your_ death especially painful." He then looked out at the group as a whole. "Kotomine told me what he could about you people, but I had to see it with my own eyes. He suggested I dispose of you all, but now I actually _want_ to. Your blood and entrails will cover the base earth in the wake of my treasury's passing, _mongrels_."

He opened around a dozen golden 'gates' and fired a wave of swords, only for Kuro's golden Round Shield and Illya's Reflega to stop them cold. The two Shirous and Saber then charged in, the latter swinging her sword to release a slicing blade of wind at Gilgamesh. He called forth a heavy metal shield from his 'treasury', and scowled as he noticed it came away with a visible gash carved into it from stopping the wind-blade. He then formed two standard blades reinforced with his magic for durability, dual-wielding with fluid grace and speed to block and parry the two Shirous' sword strikes and deal counter-strikes that battered at their guards with surprising force. He then leapt back from Local-Shirou's attempt to split him in half down the middle, and spun while raising his blades high to block a falling strike from Illya's Keyblade.

"…You're not _just_ a Keyblade-wielder" he sensed, mild surprise filling his tone. "I feel it… You are also a potential Conduit for the Grail's power… No… all _three_ of you little girls are… Most intriguing…" He turned his gaze to the two Shirous. "And I feel that is not the only little mystery here. You two are _not_ identical twins, I take it?"

Alt-Shirou growled softly. "Miyu and I come from a neighboring timeline, one that had events spill over into this one recently."

"Parallel worlds? Well, I am genuinely surprised, for once, that something so outlandish could actually happen. Of course… that also means that the two of you are trespassers on the world that is rightfully mine…"

He then grabbed Illya and threw her at the two Shirous, who quickly let her down and formed up with Kuro & Illya. Then, however, they all tensed as Gilgamesh launched a Caladbolg-II sword-arrow at them, the high-velocity explosive projectile careening towards them… and it crashed against a huge, bronze-hued shield that suddenly materialized in its path, protecting the heroes.

"Honestly, you girls…" a young voice said. "It's like you three can't go anywhere without getting involved in some kind of big trouble. But, since I kinda like you girls, I'll bail you out again. Besides… I always love a good, challenging fight, and who could provide a better challenge…" the dust cleared to reveal a familiar blonde boy, looking at the local Gilgamesh with a glowing-eyed grin "than another _me_?"

"G- Gil-kun…?" Illya murmured.

"The 'me' of the neighboring timeline…" Adult-Gilgamesh scowled.

"Sorry, big guy," the boy said, "but these girls are needed alive; they still have roles to play in stories still to come. And as for your 'affections' toward Miss Artoria? Well, in these times there's a phrase regarding unwanted suitors: 'No means no'. Now then, since these girls are still important for future events, and since I think they're kinda cute and pretty, I have a vested interest in keeping them safe, at least for now. So…" He reached into his Gate of Babylon, and pulled out Ea. "You'll need to get past _me_ if you want to hurt them. And of course…" He pulled out a small, shaped stone with the _kanji_ for lightning carved into it, and stuck it into a slot he'd created on Ea's hilt. The drill-sword's red lights turned yellow, and lightning crackled around it. "I ain't gonna make that easy!"

He thrusted the ancient weapon forward, releasing a directed tornado of lightning, with a sound like a continuous rolling thunderclap. Adult-Gilgamesh's eyes widened as he threw himself out of the way, his hair spiking out in response to the static charge of the near-miss as the blast obliterated a few trees before Kid-Gilgamesh willed it to dissipate before it could cause further collateral damage. Adult-Gil then had to act fast again, jumping and sidestepping to dodge a rain of golden blades. Snarling, he returned fire with his own, crashing against Kid-Gil's at the halfway point.

He sensed movement behind him, and turned to see that Kid-Gil had flash-stepped above and behind him, the boy's Ea now bearing glowing blue lines and shrouded in a huge drill of water. He quickly formed a large shield just as Kid-Gil thrusted his weapon down, the water drill rapidly grinding into the defense with a sound of roaring waves and screeching metal. After several seconds, Adult-Gil threw himself to the side just as his shield failed, leaving the Ea Water Drill to bore into the earth for a few seconds before Kid-Gil dispelled it. Kid-Gil then brought out Enkidu, making the spiked tip of the chain thrust out at Adult-Gil, aimed at his throat. The local Gilgamesh dodged and then pulled out his own Enkidu, and the two blondes entered a bizarre duel, trying to entangle each other or stab with the spiked ends.

After a little of this, the two leapt back from each other, running to the side while still firing blades & spears at each other. Kid-Gil swapped out the element gem in his Ea again, the weapon's lines turning green as wind magic built up around it. He leapt high and fired a tornado of slicing wind down at Adult-Gil, who crossed his arms in front to shield his face while magically 'anchoring' his feet to the ground. He gritted his teeth as the slicing wind cut into his jacket and his flesh, leaving several shallow bleeding wounds. When the wind faded, he saw his child counterpart pulling Ea back, the weapon's lines now glowing orange as embers swirled around it. Quickly, he brought his own Ea out, crimson energy swirling around it.

The two Gilgameshes fired their Ea attacks at each other – the crimson destructive mana of Adult-Gil's verses the blazing, whirling inferno from Kid-Gil's. The two attacks slammed into each other, trying to overpower one another for several seconds, until running out of fueling mana and fizzling out harmlessly. The two Gilgameshes stared each other down, auras surging with power ready to be unleashed.

Suddenly, something new entered the field: a magic-holographic projection of Kotomine Kirei.

" _Gilgamesh…_ " he spoke to the 'local' adult Gil. " _I know you're busy, but I could use your assistance with a few matters. There's been a snag in my attempts to control larger amounts of Heartless, and I need your help purging the ones I've lost control of. If you don't help… well, you can't conquer the world if there's no world left_ _ **to**_ _conquer, right?_ "

Growling, Adult-Gil dispelled his weapon. "Fine…" he said, trying not so sound like he was pouting. "I've got some rather interesting information to pass onto you, regarding some discoveries I've made. …Can I kill these mongrels first, though?"

" _I'm afraid there isn't time. Besides, wouldn't you rather kill them in front of all their friends?_ "

"…True. My victory deserves a proper audience. …Very well. I will grant them a stay of execution, if only because their deaths will be more demoralizing to their comrades if witnessed directly by them. I'll head back now."

Directing one last glare at the heroes which transitioned into an arrogant smirk, he then vanished in a whirl of golden sparkles. Kid-Gil then turned to Illya's group as they somewhat-warily approached.

"The Gilgamesh I'm familiar with would never 'debase' his weapon by changing it like that" Saber remarked.

"As things change, you have to adapt in order to survive and keep up" Kid-Gil replied. "Unlike some stubborn people, I'm willing to accept the fact that 'perfection' is an ever-changing thing, something you can always chase but never quite actually _catch_. If you let yourself stagnate, you get left behind. …Plus, being able to imbue my Ea's attacks with elemental energy is really frickin' cool."

"Uh… thanks for the help, I guess" Kuro said. "Did you really mean what you said? About us being 'needed' for some future role?"

The boy nodded. "And, I _do_ think you girls are really pretty…"

He leaned in, took Miyu's hand and gently kissed the back of it, drawing a startled blush from her. He then turned away, waving goodbye, and vanished in golden sparkles, heading back for the portal and his own 'Realm'.

"…Well, that was a thing" Local-Shirou remarked after several seconds of stunned silence.

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Later That Day**

Illya walked into her backyard to find the Uchiha Quartet (Tiida had jokingly remarked that it sounded like a band name) waiting.

"Um… What is it?" she asked.

"Illya-chan…" Teana started. "The four of us have done some planning and testing and research, and…"

"We believe that, by combining our _Tsukuyomi_ techniques in a certain way," Itachi picked up, "we can return your Servant's sanity to him. Would you mind that?"

Illya was surprised, and she gave it some thought. Herakles was as nice and gentle to her as his mental state allowed him to be, but she was always worried about having to keep a constant eye on him whenever she was around her allies. Plus, she'd heard that he was actually one of the mightiest Heroic Spirits, and that being summoned as a Berserker-class diminished his capabilities by degrading his mind; if he could get his full mental faculties, and all his well-honed skills, back…

"…Okay. Let's do it, if you think you can…"

She reached out with her thoughts and her magic, and a few seconds later Berserker materialized, kneeling at her side. The behemoth looked up at the Uchiha Quartet in curious confusion… and four pairs of _Mangekyō Sharingan_ eyes looked back at him, the four casters melding their energies and 'shaping' _Tsukuyomi_ together. Berserker's entire body was enveloped in a glow of magic as his Mad Enhancement was 'switched off', the rules of the Grail War – which he was technically no longer bound to – being overwritten.

When the light faded, Herakles had shrunk a little, his muscles not as ridiculously bulgingly huge, though he was still very tall and muscular for a human. His formerly stone-colored skin was now a more normal tone, and when he opened his eyes the sclera were white.

"…Thank you, young warriors, for returning my reason to me" he spoke in a low, smooth voice. He then turned his gaze to Illya, smiling paternally at her. "And don't worry, little 'Master'. I'd still be glad to fight alongside you." He grinned. "Plus, I _love_ a good, challenging fight, and I can tell that a glorious battle is sure to come at this conflict's end."

"R-Right" the girl nodded. "Kotomine Kirei is likely going to be our big final enemy, plus Xehanort and his Heartless are skulking around. And Gilgamesh hasn't been dealt with yet, either. …You'll have to be really careful against that one, Herakles; in addition to the Genesis Weapon 'Ea', he has the golden chains of Enkidu, which have the power to restrain divine entities. And since you're a demigod…"

The tall warrior nodded. "I will keep that in mind, should we encounter him. Now then, I believe I should be _properly_ introduced to my numerous allies in this cause."

"Indeed" Itachi remarked. "I'm sure they'll be surprised…"

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Sorry this chapter is so short. But, the next chapter will be the final battle(s), so stay tuned (though expect that it'll take me much longer to type up than this chapter did…)


	10. For the Grail

Forgive me if I make any grievous errors regarding how things are "supposed" to work…

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm TMN-5**

 **Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City**

 **A Few Days Later**

Things went quiet again for a little while, but everyone felt like it was a calm before a storm. Freed of his Grail-induced Berserker insanity, Herakles turned out to be quite jovial and boisterous; he and Lancer got along splendidly. Sasuke and Assassin continued to help Fuuka hone her sword and unarmed fighting skills, while Riku tutored Illya in the various uses of her Keyblade. And Archer & Alt-Shirou taught a "trump card" to Kuro and Local-Shirou…

Finally, a sign that the time to end things was nigh made itself known: a potent dark magical signature on Mt. Enzou… or rather, _in_ it, at the Greater Grail ritual's hosting site. Everyone (including the Emiya 'home team' of Kiritsugu, Irisviel, Sella, & Leysritt) hurried over there, only to find a sizable amount of Heartless barring their path inside. They got to work, carving through the dark creatures en masse; some drew blades, cut and sliced and stabbed and slashed, while others fired destructive bolts, blasts, or beams of magic, others dealt blunt-force strikes that crushed and splattered… If the Heartless were meant to do anything but slow the heroes down and/or make them use up a _small_ amount of stamina, they failed.

Before too long, they all reached the massive central cavern, ready to fight whoever or whatever was here. What they found was Kotomine Kirei standing in the center of the recently-repaired flat portion in the center meant to conform to the size & shape of the ritual's huge rune-circle.

"Welcome, everyone!" He spread his arms wide in a theatric gesture. "So glad you were all able to answer my 'invitation' and come here so that you could witness the culmination of all I have worked for."

"You won't be accomplishing _anything_ here today" Kiritsugu growled, already readying his chosen anti-mage weapons.

"Ah, Emiya Kiritsugu… I didn't expect to see you again. But, I suppose this means I'll get a chance to exact a little payback. You killed me; I didn't like that." 

"Better get used to it" Kuro retorted. "Except this time, you _won't_ come back."

Slowly lowering his arms, Kirei chuckled softly as a shadowy black aura enveloped him, the power of Darkness answering his call. The 'fallen priest' then extended his hand, dark power briefly flickering in front of his palm like a low flame, and then releasing as a wave of a few- _dozen_ dark-magic bolts that spread out and curved through the air, coming at the heroes from multiple angles. _Rho Aias_ from Archer, Alt-Shirou,  & Kuro, Stage-2 _Susanō_ from the Uchiha Quartet, and star-shaped magic shields from Illya & Kuro all came up to weather the storm, holding strong against the barrage of magic projectiles.

However, the moment the barrage ceased, Archer suddenly spun around and raised his arm to block a powerful surprise attack from Kotomine as he appeared behind the group, the fallen priest's kick knocking the Counter Guardian skidding back a bit on his heels. Kirei then leapt and twisted to dodge a strike from Qrow, and then fired a single bolt of dark magic from his fingertip like a finger-gun at an incoming magic blast from Riku, setting it off prematurely.

Kuro and Tiida attacked next, striking with Kanshou, Bakuya, & Aster in an attempt to cut Kotomine down. But their opponent proved fast and nimble enough to dodge most of their blows and use small forearm-'mounted' dark-magic shields to block & parry the rest. He then leapt back to dodge a falling strike from Salia as she teleported in overhead, firing a dark-magic blast that made her shields flare and almost knocked her off her feet. He then abruptly crouched to dodge a swing of Saber's Excalibur aimed at where his neck had just been, lashing out with a kick aimed at her shin that she spun to the side to avoid. However, as he straightened out he was nailed by a giant fist of magic 'strings' from Iris that knocked him back a dozen meters. After a couple seconds he stood back up, grinning as he wiped the blood from his lip.

"You cannot stop it" he proclaimed. "The Grail shall be completed, its Darkness ushered forth to cover the world…"

"Uh, have you taken a look around?" Qrow snarked. "Every single Servant is still alive; in fact, they've been freed from their connection to the Grail, so that even if it were destroyed, they get to stick around."

"The ritual requires something that can act as a conduit for the Grail's power, a vessel to _contain_ that power, and the essences of Saber, Archer, Caster, Lancer, Berserker, Assassin, and Rider. It does not specify that those essences come from the Servants themselves…"

The gang had spread out a bit, trying to cover all avenues of approach. Thus, one of his targets was vulnerable. He vanished in a flash-step, and Miyu cried out in shock was she was knocked over, and then felt a hand on her thigh. For an instant she feared he might be trying to molest her, but a moment later it was clear that his goal was something even worse, given the circumstances: with a sound of tearing fabric and strap, he tore the case containing her Class Cards away from her. With a war-cry Illya came in with Keyblade in hand, but Kotomine dodged her swing, grabbed her by the ankle, slammed her into the ground to stun her, and ripped her Card holster away as well. He leapt back to dodge a leaping sword-strike from Local-Shirou, smirking as he pulled the Caster, Lancer, Archer, Assassin, Rider, and Berserker cards out, looking them over.

Then, as the various heroes & heroines prepared to make their next move, realizing the danger of him having those artifacts in his possession, he chuckled softly and snapped his fingers, triggering the trap he'd set up before their arrival. From the cavern ceiling high above, a rain of black sword-like projectiles shot down with pinpoint accuracy thanks to aiming runes. Everyone narrowly avoided them all as they stabbed into the ground… and then suddenly, they all found themselves immobilized.

"Black… Keys…" Kiritsugu grunted out through gritted teeth; even talking was virtually impossible.

"That's right…" the fallen priest replied. "These sacred artifact-weapons can completely immobilize even high-level entities merely by pinning their shadows to the ground. Now, all that's left is…"

There was a flash of red directly behind him as Kuro teleported in, a 'Trace' of the _kama_ once wielded by Madara Uchiha in her hand, swung at his neck. Unfortunately, he reacted far quicker than she anticipated; he caught her wrist, and she cried out in surprise as she was suddenly, violently yanked around and forward. Now he had his large, muscular right arm wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. She flailed and kicked, trying to break free, but it was useless.

"My goodness…" he remarked. "The seventh Card, _and_ a Conduit, all in one convenient package…"

What happened next was, for several of the helplessly immobilized & silenced watchers, one of the most horrible things imaginable. Kirei's left hand moved with lethal swiftness, and there was a terrible wet crunching sound that echoed through the silenced chamber. Kuro's little body twitched violently, her jaw dropped open and eyes wide, as Kirei literally tore her beating heart out of her chest. Her family and comrades tried desperately to scream out – in rage, in despair, in horror – but the Black Keys still held them immobile and silent.

At Kirei's will, particles of magic flowed out of Kuro's extracted heart, gathering into the form of the Archer Card. Then, all seven Cards turned into magic and flowed into it, merging with it, and the heart began to glow a vibrant red and black with the Holy Grail's power.

"Yes~…" the man hissed.

But in his glee, he failed to notice two things: Kuro was still conscious…

"I…"

…and her right hand was still gripping Madara Uchiha's _kama_.

"I…za… n-na…g… …gi…"

With her last breath, she spoke the final syllable. …And an instant later, she flickered and vanished from Kotomine's grip, as reality was rewritten. She reappeared standing a few meters away, head down, still gripping her Traced weapon, her chest now whole and intact, a new heart beating within her. Everyone, including Kotomine, stared in astonishment as her body suddenly flared with powerful chakra and mana. She looked up, and they all saw that her amber eyes had transformed, the pupils now small circular black dots in the center… surrounded by three comma-like markings. And then, she wove a quick sequence of hand-seals while gathering chakra in her body, and…

" _Katon: Gōka Messhitsu_!"

Kotomine quickly leapt away from the tightly-focused torrent of intense flames exhaled at him, the stone beneath where he'd just been being baked and heated to the point of glowing. He fired a powerful dark-magic blast at her, but then a large blue spectral flame sprang up around her, forming into a skeletal figure that easily absorbed the blast. She opened her eyes, revealing they had changed again; the golden irises were now overlaid by black markings in the unmistakable _Eternal Mangekyō_ pattern of Madara Uchiha.

Suddenly, a handful of the other heroes managed to break free, in their own ways; Sasuke and Tiida used _Enton: Kagutsuchi_ to shape slicing black 'blades' of Amaterasu fire that slashed away the Black Keys immobilizing them, Shino's bugs finally managed to remove the one pinning him, and Qrow used his rare brand of magic to briefly turn into a crow, changing his shadow enough to free him and let him get a bit of distance before shifting back to human form. The quartet quickly used their abilities to free the others.

"What's going on?" Irisviel asked. "I know Kuro-chan used her power to 'Trace' the techniques of her weapons' original wielders to use that Uchiha reality-warp technique for a handful of seconds to save herself, but… why have her eyes changed like that?"

"Probably," Itachi replied, "the unique combination of Kuro's special brand of Tracing, the reality-warping effects of Izanagi, and her nature as a Grail Conduit combined to change her. She now bears Madara's Sharingan and its powers, though with her natural eye color remaining, and…" He looked her over with his own Mangekyō. "Because the Archer card formed a 'base' for her initial existence, even though it is no longer part of her the powers it gave her – the powers of the Counter Guardian Archer – remain with her." He blinked. "Though, I do not believe she will have access to Madara's Rinnegan-based abilities; she does not have any Senju chakra within her."

Dispelling her brand-new _Susanō_ , Kuro then 'traced' the weapon known as Myrtenaster, firing a wave of several white star-shaped blasts of magic and using her new eyes to guide them with newfound precision. They chased Kotomine around a little, but unfortunately he used quick-formed dark shields to neutralize them one by one.

"The essence of the Seven Servants," he proclaimed, "and a conduit for the Grail's power. Now only one thing remains: the vessel. It is time to bring forth All The World's Evil! Let Angra Mainyu cover the world in Darkness eternal!"

Then, to everyone's shock, he punched a hole in his own chest and shoved the grail-empowered, Cards-imbued heart into his own body. And as his body was engulfed in a raging black aura and his form began to distort, something nobody had seen coming happened: a large, black & dark-purple rune appeared on the ground beneath him… in the magic-system style used by Keyblade wielders, bearing the evil energy signature of (a) Xehanort.

The Seekers of Darkness had done a little homework, determining that the 'normal' procedure would turn Kotomine into a giant, helpless lump of mutating dark-magic flesh that would be easy pickings for any of the DDF to blast away before it could cause any major damage. So they set up a hidden 'extra' ritual-spell that would make the resulting entity much more capable of defending itself. Kotomine disappeared into a pitch-black shell of Darkness as a howling black wind swirled tightly around like a small tornado. More wisps of shadowy Darkness were drawn in from all around… including from Sakura Tohsaka's body, as she collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath.

"What was _that_?-!" Local-Shirou and Rider ran to her side.

"I forgot to mention…" Archer replied. "Zouken also shoved 'fragments' of a Lesser Corrupted Grail into Sakura-chan, with the intent of making _her_ into a Grail Conduit. At least, he did that in _my_ timeline. I imagine those fragments were just yanked out of her to feed whatever Kotomine is turning into."

As Sakura shakily got back on her feet, more or less okay, the black spherical shell within the wind grew in size until it was around 10 feet across, stabilizing there. The black wind died down, and then the big black sphere pulsed with dull red light a few times with a slow, regular rhythm, like the heartbeat of some great beast. Then, cracks that glowed from within with a sickly red & purple light began to appear all over the shell, spreading and joining. Everyone braced themselves, ready for anything.

With a sound like shattering glass pitched low, the black sphere shell shattered, accompanied by a blast of gale-force hot wind that nearly blew everyone away. The air in the massive cavern became 'tainted' by a corrupt, evil, and very powerful energy signature, making everyone even more on-edge. They looked and saw a figure, around 8 feet tall, its structure & shape vaguely humanoid but still disturbingly _un_ -human, a body that seemed to be composed of featureless solid Darkness – shifting blacks and purples and deep reds, covered in glowing bright-red lines that traced and formed arcane patterns, two glowing red slits for eyes that weren't quite level with each other, disproportionately long arms ending in huge jet-black claws with glowing red tips, a slightly hunched-forward posture…

"A… Archer…" Rin breathed out, trembling from what she was sensing. "Is that…?"

"Yeah…" the red-clad Servant nodded. "The Corruption of the Holy Grail… Angra Mainyu…"

The bestial entity let out a low, deep warbling growl, despite apparently lacking a mouth to do so, and slowly took a few plodding steps forward. Then, it vanished in a burst of speed, and Saber's eyes widened with shock as she barely brought her sword up in time to block a powerful claw-swipe that sent her skidding back on her heels, unbalanced. As it tried to move in for another attack before she could regain her bearings, it was interrupted by a Strike Raid from Riku and an explosive blast of crackling psionic power from Salia. They didn't do much damage, though they certainly got the demon's attention, as it turned to face the duo, their blades ready. It crossed its huge arms up in front, projecting backward-curving spikes from them and using those to block Riku & Salia's blade strikes, somehow withstanding Keyblade and psi-blade impacts.

Warned telepathically, Riku & Salia leapt back from the Corruption-entity just as a bright orange Divine Buster slammed into it, engulfing it in destructive magical energy. When the beam of energy faded after several seconds, the Corruption-entity's "flesh" was smoldering, its body still curled up in a defensive posture, but what relatively little damage it had taken was visibly healing. Without looking it then raised its arm back & up, hardened spikes in position on it, to block Qrow's lightning-quick strike. The beast then released an all-directions pulse of power that hit Qrow like a sledgehammer, sending him flying back several meters with his Aura flaring. Lancer caught the airborne Hunter, helping him land on his feet, while Leysritt and Bazett made the next attack. The two warrior-women wielded ornate axe and glowing fists as they attempted to crush the Corruption-entity, but it moved fast enough and blocked tough enough to dodge and withstand their strikes.

There was a flash of light and a surge of magic as Rider summoned her mount, the mighty Pegasus Bellerophon. The high-level summon glowed with white light as Rider mounted it, and then it flew right at the Corruption-entity in a very-high-speed aerial tackle. The dark beast narrowly dodged the first hit, and as Rider circled around for another pass Tiida and Qrow kept the monster busy until it was too late, the second impact hitting dead-on. The Corruption-entity was crashed into with bone-pulverizing force, carrying it forward and launching it into the far wall of the huge cavern, leaving an it-shaped indent in the durable stone wall. As the creature tried to pry itself free, it was hit by a chakra arrow from Sasuke's _Susanō_ , piercing it and detonating with significant force.

Before the smoke had faded, the dark creature leapt out from within it, landing with stone-cracking force toward the edge of the gigantic pedestal that made up most of the cavern's floor. Another low growl rang out, and then it _roared_ , a sound far louder than expected, accompanied by a continuous blast of powerful hot wind that battered at everyone. Then, numerous rifts in reality opened up, and from them emerged an enormous barrage of dozens, _hundreds_ of black  & dark-red blades and spears of solid Darkness-magic – it was like something that Gilgamesh would do when going all-out.

Knowing that dodging such an attack would be extremely difficult if not impossible, everyone either raised high-level defensive techniques or hunkered down behind those who did so. Several people had to combine or overlap their defenses to successfully withstand the withering barrage. Luvia gritted her teeth as her revolving bright green rune-circle shield was relentlessly hammered, while Fuuka crouched close behind her. However, the two girls failed to notice as the Corruption-entity picked one target at random and happened to pick them. Above and behind them, another rift opened, shooting out around a half-dozen spears of Darkness at them. They gasped and began to turn, seeing the projectiles coming at them, no time to dodge or raise a new defense…

There was a flash of movement, four of the incoming spears being sliced out of the air, but their savior had no time or room for the rest, nothing left to catch the last two… except his own body. There were two sickening thuds in rapid succession as the two dark-spears pierced through Assassin Koujirou's chest and midsection, blood and bits of bone spraying out behind him and onto the two girls as they stared in shocked horror, seeing the blood-covered tips of the weapons emerging from his back and stopping mere inches from them. Just as the wide-area barrage finally cut out, Koujirou fell to his knees, looked back over his shoulder at the duo with a weak, bloody smile, and then hit the ground with a thud.

"No…" Rin breathed out. "Damnit, _no_ … We were supposed to… to get through this without… without losing anyone…"

As the various members of the group reacting to watching Assassin fall, the Corruption-entity slowly staggered forward, growling softly, its body seething with dark power. It couldn't consume and corrupt the Servants anymore, what with their connections to the Grail all but severed, but at least it could still kill them the old-fashioned way. Its primitive, perpetually rage-clouded mind felt sick satisfaction; nothing these light-wielders had could beat it… But then, four voices rang out in unison, the words themselves containing power:

" _I am_ " _"the bone_ " " _of my_ " " _sword…_ "

Everyone turned now to see Archer, the two Shirous, and Kuro standing together, their energies mixing and melding as power flowed through them and out into the world.

" _Our bodies are as hardened steel…_ " Alt-Shirou proclaimed.

"… _And fire courses through our blood_ " Kuro continued.

The Corruption-entity growled and tried to charge them, but Itachi and Herakles barred its path, engaging it.

" _We have forged over a thousand blades…_ " Archer incanted.

" _Unyielding to death and loss…_ " Local-Shirou continued.

" _With no gain in life…_ " Alt-Shirou picked up.

Herakles' smashing strike hammered the bestial entity into the ground, and it then rolled to the side to avoid a falling axe-strike from Leysritt that almost split its head in half.

" _We have withstood hardship and pain to forge countless weapons…_ " Kuro proclaimed.

Lancer and Saber moved in next, and the Corruption-entity moved with incredible speed and unnatural flexibility to dodge the ensuing flurry of rapid-fire strikes, back-stepping and giving ground to ensure it could continue doing so.

" _Our hands hold everything and nothing,_ " Archer continued.

" _And our lives need no meaning…_ " Local-Shirou brought it home.

Saber cried out as she was hit by a blow that nearly fractured her ribs, sending her tumbling back only to be caught and steadied by Riku, while a huge barrage of mana bolts from a very, very angry Luvia hammered into the dark entity, blowing chunks out of its 'flesh' that nigh-immediately regenerated but pinning it down for a precious few seconds…

" _And_ " " _thus_ " " _we_ " " _proclaim…_ "

The power building in the incanting quartet reached its crescendo…

" _UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!-!-!_ "

A brilliant white light engulfed the entire area as local reality was overwritten, a melded quadruple-part Reality Marble taking form. When the light faded, everyone took notice that they were seemingly no longer in the Great Grail Cavern. They were in a field, dusty ground with some patches of snow here & there, as well as areas of dry but living grass with a few flowers of red and gold and white. The sky overhead had reddish clouds and dust in it, but sunlight still shone through, revealing patches of cleaner sky… which had stable, multicolored rifts that were strangely beautiful, as well as massive, slowly-turning gears, floating in it. The occasional flower petal or snowflake drifted through the air. And as far as the eye could see, hundreds and hundreds of swords, of all shapes and types and sizes, were stuck into the ground.

(MUSIC: 'EMIYA' (reader's choice of which of the many, many versions))

"Four people's Reality Marbles seamlessly overlapping like this…" Kiritsugu murmured. "Unbelievable…"

Being in this altered space boosted Archer's, the two Shirous', and Kuro's power and abilities to their max, their bodies flaring with magical power ready to unleash. In addition, the transition had purged the dark-magic miasma that the Corruption-entity had been filling the cavern with, disrupting the heroes' ability to channel and shape their power properly. Now, they too could fight at full strength. The Uchiha Quartet took position by the four 'Tracers', ready to help them lead the charge, while Saber stood beside her 'Master', and Illya & Miyu made ready to fight alongside their big brothers.

The Corruption-entity tried to open several more weapon-launching rifts, but Archer and Local-Shirou immediately pulsed with power, and numerous swords broke free from the ground and flew out at high speed, slashing through the forming rifts, disrupting and destroying them. Kuro, Local-Shirou, Sasuke, and Teana then led the charge, the others following in their wake or spreading out to attack their enemy from multiple angles. As Kuro closed in, she 'Traced' the Blast Sword _Shibuki_ , one of the Seven Mist Swordsmen's famous weapons, making the first opening strike. The Corruption-entity was slashed and struck with a point-blank explosion, and as the smoke cleared it was visibly damaged, though repairing itself. Sasuke didn't give it the chance, unleashing a flurry of precise Lightning-enhanced slashes that cut deep into the entity's 'flesh', leaving multiple electrically-sparking gashes in its solid-Darkness hide.

Saber and Illya tried a cross-strike with Excalibur and Counterpoint, but the Corruption-entity managed to regain movement and throw itself out of the way to dodge the hits. However, it was then promptly skewered by a few swords telekinetically launched by Alt-Shirou, making it stagger back as they impaled into it with significant force. Before the beast could shake off this brief stun, Local-Shirou and Teana hit it with a barrage of blows and sword-strikes, finishing with the female Uchiha forming a Stage-0 _Susanō_ fist and punching the entity hard enough to send it flying a good distance.

As Archer, Itachi, Alt-Shirou, and Tiida charged in next, the two veteran Tracers each forming their copies of Kanshou & Bakuya, it was revealed that, although the Sharingan couldn't copy/record the ability to Trace all weapons at once, if a Sharingan-wielder saw a certain weapon be Traced enough times they could then Trace that weapon as well. With matching flashes of light, Itachi formed and grasped a Kanshou of his own, while Tiida dual-wielded a Bakuya and gunblade-form Aster. Being attacked by four enemies with seven blades, the Corruption-entity was subjected to a relentless barrage of attacks, circumventing or overwhelming its attempts at defense and dealing numerous wounds.

The dark entity managed to get a bit of distance, but was given no time to recuperate before Riku and Illya were all over it, two Keyblades dealing significant damage to the Darkness-based being. A point-blank magic blast from Illya blew the entity back, and then at Archer & Kuro's mental command a rain of swords crashed down on it, skewering and blasting it. The barrage continued for several seconds, and then as the smoke and dust began to clear, to reveal the Corruption-entity with some noticeable damage, the Uchiha Quartet leapt high, formed their _Susanō_ and brought each of their spectral summons' huge solid-chakra blades down on the beast, releasing an explosion of power that engulfed the monster.

When the dust faded again, the Corruption-entity looked mangled, its body twisted and broken. As the beast straightened up onto shaking legs, it looked like it was barely holding itself together. Then, it found itself surrounded by Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, and 'Berserker'. They all had weapons drawn and ready, except for Caster who substituted with a blade of brightly-glowing solid magical energy around and extending from her right hand. All six of them dashed in at once, landing six simultaneous slashing strikes. The Corruption-entity let out a weakened roar of pain and fury, its body seizing and warping as this attack brought it to the brink.

"Finish it now!" Local-Shirou cried out as he Traced the Master Sword and rushed in from the side.

Riku and Illya readied their Keyblades and moved from the other side and above. The three Holy-class weapons struck the dark entity at the same time with a flash of light. The embodiment of All The World's Evil, the Corruption of the Holy Grail, let out a final echoing cry as it began to disintegrate into motes of light, slowly floating a little off the ground while moving as if in slow-motion after taking a knock-down hit. And then, it exploded in a rush of dark energy that was coming apart too rapidly to really do anything to them, such that it harmed nobody as it washed over them while evaporating into nothingness.

When the light and rushing wind & darkness faded, the entity was no more. All that was left were the seven Class Cards fluttering to the ground, and the spectral image of a sort of golden cup, purged of the Darkness that had long infested it. The image of the Grail faded away, and everything was calm and quiet again. The Tracers dispelled their Unlimited Blade Works, returning everything to normal, back to the Great Cavern. Many of the group breathed sighs of relief; the battle was finally over, the Greater Grail purified and returned to slumber, the Corruption banished. Then, however, their attention was drawn to where Sella was kneeling beside Assassin Koujirou, her hands glowing faintly with healing magic. The spears that had impaled him had vanished. His body looked to be slowly breaking down into motes of light and mana.

"I can't do anything more than keep him alive for just a little longer…" she reported sadly as the group gathered around. "I can't save him. I'm sorry…"

"Koujirou-san…" Luvia went down to her knees beside him, tears building in her eyes. After a few seconds, the man's eyes cracked open, and he slowly turned his head to look at her, his bloodstained lips forming into a weak smile.

"Luvia…" he spoke in a weak, cracking voice. "Sorry that we're parting so soon… I really enjoyed working with you… You're smart, have good strong magical talent… I was… proud to be your partner for this whole thing…"

He turned to the two other people he'd formed a particularly strong kinship with; Sasuke was quiet and solemn, his sadness at losing a friend showing through, while Fuuka was trying, and not quite succeeding, to hold back her tears.

"You two… Use well what I taught you…"

Sasuke nodded. "It was a pleasure to know you, Koujirou-san…"

" _Nii-san_ …" Fuuka murmured, sniffling.

Koujirou grinned. "You've got amazing potential, kid… I know you'll go far…"

He took one last look around at the comrades and friends who stood all around him, at his fellow warriors showing silent, mournful respect, at the gifted children showing sorrow at his loss but trying to keep themselves together out of respect to him… He smiled, a soft weak chuckle escaping him, as he closed his eyes and laid his head back.

"See you all… on the other… side…"

Then, the 'Assassin' Sasaki Koujirou's body burst into motes of white and golden light, swirling around Luvia one last time and then winking out of existence, the wealthy blonde finally letting out a sob as she bade her Servant farewell…

Wiping at her tears, Illya turned and slowly headed over to where the fallen Class Cards lay, retrieving them. They still had all their power, and… It was strange, looking at the Archer Card now in her hand even though Kuro was right over there safe & strong. It seemed she really didn't need it as an 'anchor' to existence any longer… Illya sighed, straightening up… and then there was a flash of movement and pressure, and she couldn't breathe.

Startled, everyone spun around to see a figure in golden armor holding Illya up by the throat. As he held the thrashing girl with one hand, Gilgamesh drew his other back, holding it in a spearing shape, aiming for Illya's chest… There was a flicker of motion as someone teleported in, and then a boot-clad foot slammed into the side of Gilgamesh's head, sending him flying. Illya was caught before she could hit the ground, while Gilgamesh skidded along the rocks for a few meters before catching himself and coming to a stop on his feet.

As Illya was set down, everyone got a look at her savior: Goku, in his usual red and dark-blue outfit. However, something was different about him. His energy felt _much_ more potent than expected, his power level feeling like it was around Super Saiyan 2 despite the fact that he was apparently in his base state. Furthermore, it felt like his _ki_ had something mixed in with it… and when he turned to face the group with a calm smile, they realized they were sensing Nature Energy just as they saw the scale-like pattern of markings around his eyes, which now had golden-colored eyelids, sky-blue irises, and slit pupils.

"Sorry I'm late" he told them. "Or rather, it looks like I'm just in time. From what I can sense from this guy, this is a good chance to try out the new ability that Lord Voltaire and his people have taught me."

"D…" Teana whispered, awed. "Dragon-style… Sage Mode…"

Gilgamesh snarled as he straightened up, rubbing at his cheek. "You _dare_ strike the oldest and mightiest of Heroic Spirits?"

"I don't care who you think you are" Goku replied with a calm frown. "I won't allow you to kill my allies and friends."

"I am the rightful _king_ of this world. I reigned thousands of years ago, and I have come back to reign again. But the people of the modern era are weak, idiotic, worthless compared to the glory of my last kingdom. My plan was to unleash All The World's Evil upon this world, let that primordial corruptive Darkness consume and kill those who were too weak, and then rule over those strong enough and _worthy_ enough to survive. But these _mongrels_ have vanquished that power! …As I was the first to ever rule over this world, everything on this world is rightfully mine. And those who claim, or _destroy_ , what is mine… must be made to _know their_ _place_ …"

"…So you're _that_ type, huh? Just like Frieza… I can tell you won't be reasoned with; I can sense your enormous ego, and your selfish, black heart. The best thing I can do is put you down before you cause any more suffering. Prepare yourself!"

Gilgamesh opened numerous small golden gateways, firing about a dozen high-velocity swords that crossed the distance in a fraction of a second. However, Goku effortlessly dodged them all with the minimum movement required, practically not leaving his spot; when the last one came right at his face he reached out with lightning speed and caught the flying sword by the hilt, stopping the blade's point a mere inch away from his forehead. He tossed the weapon aside, still glaring calmly at his opponent. Gilgamesh glared right back, trying to control his temper, ready for his enemy to make a move. He had a feeling that this man was high-level enough to move with speed on par with a high-speed Servant, so he tried to be ready…

Then, however, it was made abundantly clear that Sage Mode gave Goku far more speed than Gilgamesh was expecting. Even by Gil's standards Goku seemed to 'flicker' and reappear right in front of him instantly, not from Instant Transmission but pure, _senjutsu-_ enhanced speed. His resulting punch made a loud clang sound as it dented Gilgamesh's supposedly-indestructible armor, the golden-haired 'King of Heroes' nearly doubling over after the blow almost knocked the wind out of him. Growling as he regained himself, Gilgamesh struck back, a flurry of blur-fast strikes that Goku blocked or dodged. The Saiyan hero then returned the favor, putting Gilgamesh on the defensive with multiple rapid and startlingly powerful strikes that the golden-clad villain was hard-pressed to block against. Gilgamesh then made the mistake of dodging a punch instead of blocking it, letting Goku's punch pass right by the side of his head… and getting nailed right in the face by the invisible aura of _senjutsu_ energy that surrounded Goku's body. The blow knocked Gilgamesh for a loop and sent him tumbling back, end over end across the stony ground for over a dozen meters until he caught himself. With a furious roar, Gilgamesh charged while releasing a staggered wave of high-velocity projectiles swords and spears, which Goku dodged around as he moved in to meet his enemy.

The next couple minutes mostly went the same – Sage-Mode Goku withstanding, avoiding, or shutting down Gilgamesh's attempts to do him harm, and dealing blow after powerful blow to wear the evil 'King of Heroes' down. Gilgamesh's frustration and fury steadily grew, until finally he hit his breaking point. With his aura surging to match his now-burning rage, he opened a rift into his 'treasury' and pulled out a certain infamous weapon, drill or lance-like in shape, black with red lines. Immediately Goku sensed the great and terrible power in that weapon, the power to shred space-time and ravage worlds. Right away he knew the best defense against the weapon known as 'Ea' would be to not let Gilgamesh use it.

Goku charged in as Gilgamesh pulled his arm back, drawing Ea back as its segments began to spin up. The 'King of Heroes' formed a shining golden shield to block the _ki_ blasts that the Saiyan Hero fired at him, keeping Goku from interrupting. A wicked grin formed on Gilgamesh's face as he felt the power of Ea waking up, prepared to rip through the fabric of reality and tear this newcomer apart…

…And then he received a sudden reminder that Goku was not his only enemy on the field, as a snipe-shot arrow from Archer stuck into his side and then detonated, blasting his damaged armor off and blowing a bloody chunk in his side. He cried out in shocked pain, the charging sequence for Ea faltering, and that was all the time Goku needed to circumvent the shield, get right up in front of his foe, and fire a wave of senjutsu-enhanced _ki_ that blasted a hole right through the center of Gilgamesh's chest. Gilgamesh staggered back, dropping Ea, in a state of complete and utter shock; how had a mongrel from out of nowhere wielded such powers and done _this_ to him? He looked up, just as Goku fired a much larger and wider wave of energy.

The brilliant blue light of a Sage-enhanced Kamehameha was the last thing Gilgamesh ever saw. The ancient 'King of Heroes' was annihilated in virtually an instant, his wicked life snuffed out. Ea clattered to the floor, going dormant, as the energy wave dissipated, revealing nothing left of the oldest Heroic Spirit.

"Thanks for the save, Goku" Tiida said as she and the others came up. "So, Voltaire-sama taught you Sage Mode?"

The man nodded. "It's really something. I'm working on combining it with my Super Saiyan forms, but it's proving a bit difficult. So… What'd I miss?"

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

In the aftermath of the battle, a few things were confirmed. First was that the Holy Grail still existed, having returned to dormancy, and that it was indeed fully purified, purged of Angra Mainyu's corruption. Meanwhile, examination of Kuro had revealed that her Sharingan was for keeps (though, she could turn it on & off like an Uchiha could), as were the abilities connected to it, including those of Madara's Mangekyō. Why her eyes did not turn red when they were active was a minor curiosity, but not worth making a big deal out of. In addition, the unique melding of Izanagi, Tracing, and the Grail's power had further 'stabilized' her existence; not only did she no longer need the Archer Card to maintain herself, but she no longer had to drain magical energy from others to replenish her own supply. Her body and Linker Core would now draw in raw mana and convert it into magical energy for her like a normal person's would.

Though, she had quickly made it clear this would not stop her from kissing Illya and Miyu for the hell of it, simply because it felt good and it made _them_ feel good despite their blushing denials.

"So yeah," Goku explained to the group, "Voltaire taught me a lot of things to help me out. Oh, and he also told me that there's another Realm we should go to soon, to a world where we should be able to find some more help. It's a world that has an ancient Guardian Dragon of its own, a benevolent protector who watches over his world, helps its people, fights against things that would threaten it, and all that. I've never heard of him, but Voltaire knows him, and says he and the champions & creatures of that world will probably help."

"So what's this other 'Guardian Dragon' named?" Sasuke asked.

Goku grinned. "Rayquaza."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Next Day**

 **Midchilda**

It would be about a week before the DDF would be ready to send people to the next Realm. For now, Teana had a little 'mission' of her own. She and Fuuka had become rather close over the course of the recent op, quickly coming to treat each other like sisters; the kid was brave, determined, kind-hearted, and also kinda cuddly-cute, especially when she was being bashful. Since Fuuka had formed this sort of sibling-esque bond with Tia, the redhead wanted to introduce her to someone.

"Her name is Kara Emery" Teana explained as she led Fuuka through one of Cranagan's nicer residential areas. "I met her as part of the support staff for RF6, really _met_ -met her right after the mission where we recruited the Freelancers and the Reds & Blues. We hit it off really quick; she's about 30 or so (though she totally looks like she isn't a day over 25), and right away she was taken with me, even hugging me and saying I was 'one of the cutest and sweetest little girls she'd ever met', and she's been really nice to me, looking after me, giving me little advices on stuff, keeping me company, lots of hugs and… She's…" the redhead blushed. "Well, she's kinda-sorta… become my mom, basically. She's made it clear that she's come to care for me like a daughter, and… I admit, I _do_ think of her as a mom by now. She does like to fuss over me like I'm a little kid sometimes, but… even that isn't all bad, really…"

"…Do you think she'll like me?" Fuuka asked.

"Yeah, I do. I really do think she'll like you a lot, Fuuka."

The duo found themselves standing in front of one of the houses – single-story, but big and kinda fancy. The Emery family had some rather successful high-up businesspeople in it, so they were pretty well-off.

"Come on, _imōto_ " Teana took Fuuka by the hand. "Come on and meet my 'mom'…"

She led the 10-year-old up the steps to the door, which opened from within; Teana had sent a telepathic message to the woman inside ahead of time. The first thing that Fuuka noticed was that Kara was very tall, around 6'3" or 4" by the looks of it. She was also quite shapely and 'gifted', her bust pretty big even for her size. Long dark-brown hair hung loose down to her mid-back, and her eyes were deep blue. Fuuka's eyes went wide; between the woman's height, figure, appearance, the startling warmth and kindness in her eyes and smile, her body language, her 'aura'… She had a very, very warm, comforting, and maternal air to her.

"Hello, Tia" the woman said

"Hi, Kara" Teana had a shy little smile on her face, instinctively relaxing in the presence of someone her heart at least partially already saw as 'mommy'. "I brought someone to meet you. This is Fuuka, the girl I mentioned in my message."

Kara turned her attention to the little girl, her smile growing a bit as she walked closer. Fuuka felt very shy and a bit nervous as she looked up at the woman, who giggled softly at the little one's big wide eyes and reached down to softly touch her cheek.

"Hello there, sweetie" she spoke softly.

"…H-Hi" Fuuka squeaked out. She felt less like a 10-year-old and more like a _5-_ year-old right now, faced with someone so tall and motherly. Somehow, with just one little opening exchange, she felt a sort of… connection.

"I've heard about you, sweetheart. You've been through a lot, huh? And still you're brave and determined, and also kind and sweet. …I wasn't expecting such a _cute_ little girl, though."

She petted the little girl's head, earning a soft blush as Fuuka felt a strange feeling of… security, and safety, and other things she couldn't quite put words to. It was a feeling she hadn't felt since she was two years old, when she'd been in her dying birth-mother's arms for the last time.

"Wanna come in?"

Shyly, Fuuka nodded. Kara took her by the hand, leading the little girl inside with Teana close behind.

'Why does this feel like… coming _home_?'

 **-** _ **BOOK 33 END**_ **-**

And that's it for Book 33. Goku's last word should tell you where the DDF is heading next. However, it'll take a while; I not only have a few other tasks to come, including making some edits to chapters of older, earlier Books (gonna clean up some things, fix a few mistakes, remove a couple bits that don't really feel right now that I look at them…), but I… kinda have to actually make a plot/event outline for Book 34 before I can write it. So far all I've got are some ideas for Poké-partners and a couple of 'boss fight' ideas. It'll probably not be until February or so before I can start working on Book 34 (though who knows? I might get it out sooner… or later…)

And Fuuka's found a new mommy! Kara is an OC from an unreleased collection of various short scenes that take place 'behind the scenes' in the Travels-verse that I've made for my own private perusal to help me keep track of things, try out ideas… Though, that collection includes sex scenes and bits from the RF6 hospital with a certain policy involving under-certain-age inpatients that reviews have told me won't be popular with readers beyond the occasional reference, so those scenes will likely never see the public eye. Don't worry, though. When it comes to Kara, what you see is what you get: a very caring, nurturing, motherly woman who's essentially taken Teana in as a surrogate daughter, loves to fuss over and cuddle her 'little girl' (who thrives from the affection and love), and is now set to do the same for Fuuka.

Anyway, see you people next time!


End file.
